PlantFiles: Crozier Cycas, Fern Cycas, Fern Palm, Palm-leaved Cycas, Queen Sago, Sago Palm
Cycas circinalis

I live in Srilanka. In Srilanka, the tender leaves of Cycas circinalis are used in curries and soups after boiling in water for abuout half an hour. When boiled the toxic effect is removed.
Dry seeds are grinded and steamed the flour before use
We make a kind of bread called MADU PITTU.

A native to India, the Cycas circinalis or Queen Sago Palm is actually a Cycad and not a Palm.

Although this plant does not currently appear on any lists as poisonous, it appears its seed may be toxic to animals as well as humans yet I noted an entry in which some palm seed was actually ground and used in a bread meal.

The Queen Sago has dark green attractive foliage and is slow growing. It does not branch as does the King Sago. Both appear to be very susceptible to scale so probably not a great plant for North America unless you like to spend lots of money maintaining its health with little or no guarantees the plant will survive.

Starting sagos from seed

“Often, not many seeds produce new plants. But if you wish to try, plant the seeds half way down in sterile soil and place in the shade. Keep the soil lightly moist and never wet. You likely will wait many months before any seeds sprout. Those that do, first plant in pots planning later to move to their permanent location.”

Separating baby sagos from the mother plant

“Sagos produce babies both at the soil line as well as on the main trunk in more mature King sagos. Those on the trunk can be removed with the strength of your hand. Wiggle until the "bulb" comes loose. This will leave the appearance of an indentation but is not harmful to the main plant. An idea is to "plant" something in this hole. Use only air plants so no soil is required. Plant the bulb half down in the soil in similar conditions as the mother plant. Move to a permanent location once you see it is growing. For sprouts coming from the soil line, send a large knife between the baby and the mother and sever down 6-8 inches. This will not hurt the main plant at all. If you waited until the baby is not so small anymore, you may need a shape, straight shovel to make the cut. Do nothing for 3-4 weeks. After that, use a small shovel or other tool to dig up the baby. Plant in similar conditions as the mother plant. Move to a permanent location once you see it is growing”

Yellow Leaves

“Be aware that the natural course of leaves on plants, including palms and cycads, is first green, then turning yellow, and finally brown and dry. The yellow stage is where the frond is losing its chlorophyll as it is being re-absorbed into the plant. The final brown stage is the completion of the nutrients re-absorption process. So... if you cut off sago fronds too soon, you are actually depriving your sago palm of its natural technique to conserve nutrients. Best is to wait until a frond is totally brown and shriveled up small. The exception to not being worried about yellow or brown fronds on your sago palm is if they are occurring in the center "new growth" area. If new fronds soon turn yellow and head for brown, you have a nutrition problem. You are not feeding properly. Sometimes a sago may take a year or two or more to develop the "quick yellowing" symptom. Don't let that fool you. Food is the answer.”

Scale and Fungus

“All around South Florida sago palms are suddenly turning completely white and beginning to die. The culprit is a newly (accidentally) introduced (1994) cycad scale insect…A major problem is scale re-infection. Even if you kill off all the scales on your sagos, they can come back and frequently they do. They come from other infected sagos near your home. The point is, re-check often (say, monthly) with the finger test. If re-infection occurs, re-spray (the whole 4x or 5x cycle) all over again... As a sago is weakened by scale infestation, fungus can attack the plant. The fungus may be the actual fatal enemy.”

Cycas circinalis is NOT the same is C. rumphii, although most plants identified as C. circinalis are really C. rumphii or something similar. The true C. circinalis is actually a pretty rare plant, with a much smaller habit and smaller leaflets and leaves than the massive C. rumphii commonly used in landscaping in the more tropical areas of the world.

The queen sago is larger and softer than the king sago. The fronds are often 6' to 7' long and quite feathery. It sets seeds a bit differenty than the king, also; they cling to long, exposed ribbon-like structures. The seeds are green and about the size of a goose egg when ripe.