38-CYCAS REVOLUTAThunb
Local names: AmarwelSago palm, Cycas.
Family: Cycadaceae
Location: Rauza, Botanical Garden.
Characters: This very symmetrical plant supports a crown of shiny, dark green leaves on a thick shaggy trunk that is typically about 20 cm in diameter, sometimes wider. The trunk is very low to subterranean in young plants, but lengthens above ground with age. It can grow into very old specimens with 6–7 m (over 20 feet) of trunk; however, the plant is very slow-growing and requires about 50–100 years to achieve this height. Trunks can branch several times, thus producing multiple heads of leaves.King sago palm in Humble, Texas. The leaves are a deep semiglossy green and about 50–150 cm long when the plants are of a reproductive age. They grow out into a feather-like rosette to 1 m in diameter. The crowded, stiff, narrow leaflets are 8–18 cm long and have strongly recurved or revolute edges. The basal leaflets become more like spines. The petiole or stems of the sago cycad are 6–10 cm long and have small protective barbs. Roots are called coralloid with an Anabaena symbiosis allowing nitrogen fixation. Tannins-rich cells are found on either side of the algal layer to resist the algal invasion. As with other cycads, it is dioecious, with the males bearing pollen cones (strobilus) and the females bearing groups of megasporophylls. Pollination can be done naturally by insects or artificially.
General use: Sago’ is the starch is extracted from the plants’ sponge-like centre pith. It is similar to tapioca in both taste and texture and has been the staple food for populations of New Guinea and the Moluccas. It is used in various food items and to stiffen cloth material in the textile industry. Cycas Revoluta has been used as a traditional medicine to cure blood vomiting, skin diseases, hypertension, gastrointestinal problems, cough, blood pressure, hair growth and snake bite. Sago Palm fronds are used in the florist industry. Even the dried leaves of this plant are used as accents in floral arrangements.