37
Cycas revoluta Thunb.
Synonym : Cycas miquelii Warb.
Family :
Cycadaceae
Local Names : Chanappan, Eenth, Eenthinpana,
The sago cycad
Flowering and fruiting period: December – February
Distribution: Native of East Asia
Habitat: Grown as garden plant
IUCN status: Least concern
Endemic:
No
Uses: Leaves are used for plaiting
into mats. The mature male cones are used as insect repellents in the paddy
fields. The pith is rich in carbohydrate and a sago can be made from it. The
bark and the seeds are ground to a paste with oil and used as a poultice on
sores, cuts, wounds, ulcers and swellings
Key Characters: Large shrub to small trees with terminal crown of large pinnately
compound leaves; dioecious. Microsporophylls densely aggregated to form large
terminal cones. Megasporophylls loosely arranged, crowded round the apex of
stem; ovules 1-5 on either side of sporophyll. Seeds globose.