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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.