Sago Palm

Sago palm is a common name for several plants which are used to produce a starchy food known as

sago Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is ...

. Sago palms may be "true palms" in the family

Arecaceae The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

, or

cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...

s with a palm-like appearance. Sago produced from cycads must be detoxified before consumption. Plants called sago palm include: * ''

Metroxylon sagu ''Metroxylon sagu'', the true sago palm, is a species of palm in the genus '' Metroxylon'', native to tropical southeastern Asia. The tree is a major source of sago starch. Description True sago palm is a suckering (multiple-stemmed) palm, ...

'' (true sago palm), a species in the palm family (Arecaceae) native to Southeast Asia * Cycads ** ''

Cycas revoluta ''Cycas revoluta'' (Sotetsu apanese ソテツ sago palm, king sago, sago cycad, Japanese sago palm) is a species of gymnosperm in the family Cycadaceae, native to southern Japan including the Ryukyu Islands. It is one of several species used f ...

'', (king sago palm), native to Japan and widely cultivated as an ornamental plant ** ''

Cycas rumphii ''Cycas rumphii'', commonly known as queen sago or the queen sago palm, is a dioecious gymnosperm, a species of cycad in the genus ''Cycas'' native to Indonesia, New Guinea and Christmas Island. Although palm-like in appearance, it is not a palm ...

'', (queen sago palm), native to southeast Asia ** ''

Cycas circinalis ''Cycas circinalis'', also known as the queen sago, is a species of cycad known in the wild only from southern India. ''Cycas circinalis'' is the only gymnosperm species found among native Sri Lankan flora. Taxonomy ''C. circinallis'' is native ...

'', (queen sago palm), native to India {{Plant common name