RBGS FloraAeonium arboreum subsp. holochrysum Broadleaf Sugarbush (Protea eximia) Glandular Globe Thistle (Echinops sphaerocephalus) Grass Tree (Xanthorrhoea media) Jade Vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) Koko (Soehrensia formosa) Lavender Queen (Leptospermum rotundifolium) Nepenthes mixta x maxima Orchids Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) Sago Cycad (Cycas revoluta) St Johns Wort (Hypericum oblongifolium) Spider Hibiscus / Japanese Lantern (Hibiscus schizopetalus) Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis)
Cycas revoluta, commonly known as Sago Cycad, comes from the Southern Japanese island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Archipelago, common near seashores. Starch is extracted from its trunks in times of food shortage, but true sago comes from a palm, Metroxylon. From the family Cycadaceae, genus Cycas.
Although Cycas revoluta is native to the warmer climate of southern Japan, it does tolerate cold to some degree, down to -10 degrees, during which it will drop the feathery leaves to re-sprout in spring. It has become a common cultivated plant.
As well as an ornamental plant, Cycas revoluta is one of several species that is used for the production of sago, being used for many of the same purposes as palm sago. It is however, extremely poisonous to both animals and humans if ingested before being treated. It is the pith that contains the edible starch, used for making sago, which must be carefully washed to leach out the toxins contained in the pith. All parts of the plant are toxic, with the seeds contain the highest level of the toxin cycasin.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Tracheophyta
- Class: Cycadopsida
- Order: Cycadales
- Family: Cycadaceae
- Genus: Cycas
- Species: Cycas revoluta
Footnote & References
- The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, https://www.botanicgardens.org.au/
- https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/129783-Cycas-revoluta, iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/129783-Cycas-revoluta
- Cycas revoluta, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycas_revoluta
- Cycad Sago, Centennial Parklands, https://www.centennialparklands.com.au/visit/environment/trees-shrubs-plants/plants/cycad-sago
RBGS FloraAeonium arboreum subsp. holochrysum Broadleaf Sugarbush (Protea eximia) Glandular Globe Thistle (Echinops sphaerocephalus) Grass Tree (Xanthorrhoea media) Jade Vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) Koko (Soehrensia formosa) Lavender Queen (Leptospermum rotundifolium) Nepenthes mixta x maxima Orchids Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) Sago Cycad (Cycas revoluta) St Johns Wort (Hypericum oblongifolium) Spider Hibiscus / Japanese Lantern (Hibiscus schizopetalus) Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis)
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