Sago palm : Cycas revoluta


Kingdom : Plant
   Phylum : Cycadophyta
          Class : Cycadopsida
               Order : Cycadales
                    Family : Cycadaceae
                         Genus : Cycas
                              Species : revoluta
Common name: Sago palm

Description:

Trunk simple, rarely branched, 2-3m tall. Leaves recurved, pinnate, pinnae numerous, narrow, stiff with spine-like tip, dark, glossy green, margin recurved.

Cycas, Photo by David Byres Plants are dioecious; male plant produces cylindric staminate cones 40-50 cm in length, the numerous scales densly covered on the lower surface by round pollen sacs. The female plant forms a globose aggregate of modified leaves each of which is covered by a dense mat of yellowish hairs giving the structures a felt-like appearance. Near the base of each modified leaf several ovules form although only one or two may mature. Mature seeds 3-4 cm long with a reddish-orange slightly fleshy seed coat. At the base of the trunk branches may form. These are commonly called suckers or pups and may be cut off and used to vegetatively propagate the plant.


Distribution:

Native to the southernmost islands of Japan.


Habitat:

This plant is not native to the United States. However it is widely used in landscaping in Florida.		Sago palm cone, Photo by David Byres



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