Cycas revoluta (Sotetsu [Japanese ソテツ], sago palm, king sago, sago cycad, Japanese sago palm), is a species of gymnosperm in the family Cycadaceae, native to southern Japan including the Ryukyu Islands. It is one of several species used for the production of sago, as well as an ornamental plant. The sago cycad can be distinguished by a thick coat of fibers on its trunk. The sago cycad is sometimes mistakenly thought to be a palm, although the only similarity between the two is that they look similar and both produce seeds. The leaves grow from the trunk and start out as small leaves near the centre of the plant.
This very symmetrical plant supports a crown of shiny, dark green leaves on a thick shaggy trunk that is typically about 20 cm (7.9 in) in diameter, sometimes wider. The trunk is very low to subterranean in young plants, but lengthens above ground with age. It can grow into very old specimens with 6–7 m (over 20 feet) of trunk; however, the plant is very slow-growing and requires about 50–100 years to achieve this height. Trunks can branch several times, thus producing multiple heads of leaves.
The leaves are a deep semiglossy green and about 50–150 cm (20–59 in) long when the plants are of a reproductive age. They grow out into a feather-like rosette to 1 m (3.3 ft) in diameter. The crowded, stiff, narrow leaflets are 8–18 cm (3.1–7.1 in) long and have strongly recurved or revolute edges. The basal leaflets become more like spines. The petiole or stems of the sago cycad are 6–10 cm (2.4–3.9 in) long and have small protective barbs. Cultivation and uses
Propagation of Cycas revoluta is either by seed or clonally by removal of basal offsets. It is one of the most widely cultivated cycads, grown outdoors in warm temperate and subtropical regions, or under glass in colder areas. It grows best in sandy, well-drained soil, preferably with some organic matter. It needs good drainage or it will rot. It is fairly drought-tolerant and grows well in full sun or outdoor shade, but needs bright light when grown indoors. The leaves can bleach somewhat if moved from indoors to full sun outdoors.
Of all the cycads, C. revoluta is the most popular in cultivation. It is seen in almost all botanical gardens, in both temperate and tropical locations. In many areas of the world, it is heavily promoted commercially as a landscape plant. It is also quite popular as a bonsai plant. First described in the late 18th century, it is tolerant of mild to somewhat cold temperatures, provided the ground is dry. Frost damage can occur at temperatures below −10 °C (14 °F). C. revoluta usually defoliates in winter in this temperate climate, but will usually flush (grow) several new leaves by spring.
This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
The pith contains edible starch and is used for making sago. Before use, the starch must be carefully washed to leach out toxins contained in the pith. Extracting edible starch from the sago cycad requires special care due to the poisonous nature of cycads.[8] Cycad sago is used for many of the same purposes as palm sago. Sago is extracted from the sago cycad by cutting the pith from the stem, root and seeds of the cycads, grinding the pith to a coarse flour and then washing it carefully and repeatedly to leach out the natural toxins. The starchy residue is then dried and cooked, producing a starch similar to palm sago/sabudana. The cycad seed contains cycasin toxin and should not be eaten as it is possible for cycasin toxin to survive the most vigorous of repeated washings. Cycasin toxin can cause ALS, Parkinson's, prostate cancer and fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma.
Aulacaspis yasumatsui is a scale insect feeding on C. revoluta, and unchecked is able to destroy the plant.
Cycad sago is extremely poisonous to animals (including humans) if ingested. Pets are at particular risk, since they seem to find the plant very palatable (the fruit has very pleasant, sweet flavour). All parts of the plant are toxic; however, the seeds contain the highest level of the toxin cycasin. Clinic
al symptoms of ingestion will develop within 12 hours, and may include vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, seizures, and liver failure or hepatotoxicity characterized by icterus, cirrhosis, and ascites. If any quantity of the plant is ingested, a poison control center or doctor should be contacted immediately. Effects of ingestion can include permanent internal damage and death.
The seeds you will receive were previously cleaned from pulp (fruit) and overcome floating test (supposed those are not viable) and rattling (this I can’t confirm because I put those for germination test, and they showed the same result as not rattling ones but if I have any I’ll keep them to myself).
Pre-treatment Soak your seeds for 24-48 hours. Just an hour before sowing you can put them in mild fungicide.
Soil Well draining sterile soil. I used mix of soil for seed and perlite approximately 1:1. You can you sand as well. Prepare your seedling trays. They don’t have to be fancy, I used disposable plastic boxes they use in vegetable market. I like them because they are tall enough for the root development and you can use another one as the cover. They need to be clean! Wash them with dish soap or even with bleach diluted in water 1:9. Rinse thoroughly and let them dry.
Sowing Fill the containers/tray/pots will soil almost to the top as you don’t have to burry the seeds. Water well. I recommend using fungicide solution as Cycas seeds take long to germinate, thus might develop fungus. I used Previcur Energy of Buyer for dumping off prevention.
Put the seed on the of soil and press them in so half of it is out (see the pictures). The root will develop from the rounded edge so put that part well in. Spray again with fungicide. And cover the lid. The important note here is – leave the space for the air flow! Or open it for some time every day. Otherwise, you will have fungus growing on your seeds! Water it when the surface become dry. Every 5-7 days worked for me, with very light concentration of fungicide (like you use as indicated in the instruction and add twice as much water. The optimal germination temperature is 23-30C. The soil temperature probe shown 31C in my experiment. I was using the common heat mat, no additional lights except for the distant and very sparse natural light.
Germination The first roots started to emerge after 4 weeks, but other seeds will take longer. After seeing some “green” in my containers I added white light.
Order your seeds now as fresh seeds will always give you the best results! If you have any questions or require bigger quantities, please do not hesitate to message me!