What is "sago palm"

Sago \Sa"go\ (s[=a]"g[-o]), n. [Malay. s[=a]gu.] A dry granulated starch imported from the East Indies, much used for making puddings and as an article of diet for the sick; also, as starch, for stiffening textile fabrics. It is prepared from the stems of several East Indian and Malayan palm trees, but chiefly from the Metroxylon Sagu; also from several cycadaceous plants ( Cycas revoluta, Zamia integrifolia, etc.). Portland sago, a kind of sago prepared from the corms of the cuckoopint ( Arum maculatum). Sago palm. (Bot.)

1. A palm tree which yields sago.

2. A species of Cycas ( Cycas revoluta).

   Sago spleen (Med.), a morbid condition of the spleen, produced by amyloid degeneration of the organ, in which a cross section shows scattered gray translucent bodies looking like grains of sago.

n. Any palm which yields sago, especially (taxlink Metroxylon sagu species noshow=1) and (taxlink Cycas revoluta species noshow=1).

1. n. any of various tropical Asian palm trees the trunks of which yield sago

2. dwarf palmlike cycad of Japan that yields sago [syn: Cycas revoluta]

Sago palm is a common name for several plants which are used to produce a starchy food known as sago. Sago palms may be "true palms" in the family Arecaceae, or cycads with a palm like appearance. Sago produced from cyads must be detoxified before consumption. Plants called sago palm include:

• Metroxylon sagu (true sago palm), a species in the palm family (Arecaceae) native to southeast Asia
• Cycads
  • Cycas revoluta, (king sago palm), native to Japan and widely cultivated as an ornamental plant
  • Cycas rumphii, (queen sago palm), native to southeast Asia
  • Cycas circinalis, (queen sago palm), native to India