Definition

1. Noun:
   • A cycad plant (Cycas revoluta): A slow-growing, palmlike, woody plant native to southern Japan and other parts of Asia. It is not a true palm but a cycad, and its pith is a source of sago starch.
   • A true palm tree (genus Metroxylon): Any of several tropical Asian palm trees, primarily Metroxylon sagu, whose trunk pith is processed to produce sago pearls.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Cycad):
  • The ornamental sago palm in the garden is actually a cycad.
  • Sago is extracted from the pith of the sago palm.
• Noun (True Palm):
  • In Southeast Asia, the sago palm is cultivated for its starchy food product.
  • The trunk of the sago palm is felled to harvest the sago.

Advanced Usage

• Botanical Distinction: The term "sago palm" is applied to botanically distinct plants (a cycad and true palms) that share the economic characteristic of producing sago starch. The context usually clarifies which type is meant.
• As a source material: The term is often used in contexts related to traditional food sources, starch production, and sometimes ornamental horticulture (for the cycad type).

Variants and Related Words

• Sago (n): The edible starch extracted from the pith of these plants, often processed into pearls.
  • Sago pudding is made from the starch of the sago palm.
• Cycad (n): The plant family to which the ornamental belongs.
• Metroxylon (n): The genus of true palms that are primary sources of commercial sago.

Synonyms

• For the cycad: Japanese sago palm, king sago palm ().
• For the true palm: Sago palm tree, true sago palm ().

Related Phrases

• Sago palm starch: The primary product derived from the plant.
  • The island's economy historically relied on sago palm starch.
• Sago palm pith: The soft, starchy core of the trunk from which sago is processed.
  • Workers scrape out the sago palm pith for processing.

Noun

1. dwarf palmlike cycad of Japan that yields sago
2. any of various tropical Asian palm trees the trunks of which yield sago