Cycas revoluta

9.9

A small plant like a palm from Japan that gives starch from its trunk

noun
/ˈsaɪkəs rɛˈvoʊlʊtə/

Specialized

: Cycas revoluta

Farmers in Japan harvest Cycas revoluta for the starchy sago extracted from its trunk.

Examples

The Cycas revoluta is often grown as an ornamental plant in gardens worldwide.
Although called the sago palm, the Cycas revoluta is actually a cycad, not a true palm.
The Cycas revoluta is often called the sago palm.
I saw a beautiful Cycas revoluta in the botanical garden.
Farmers in Japan harvest Cycas revoluta for the starchy sago extracted from its trunk.
The Cycas revoluta is often grown as an ornamental plant in gardens worldwide.
Although called the sago palm, the Cycas revoluta is actually a cycad, not a true palm.

Synonyms

sago palm

vsCycas revoluta

7.2

A plant that makes sago, a starchy food from its trunk

is a single palm-like cycad from Japan that specifically yields that starch

Surface Forms

Cycas revoluta singular

Cycas revolutas plural

Morphology

Cycas + revoluta

This is a Latin binomial (scientific) name: 'Cycas' indicates the genus (a cycad) but 'revoluta' is an untranslated Latin epithet and does not transparently yield the detailed common meaning ('sago palm', small palm-like cycad native to Japan). The label is a conventional taxonomic name rather than a compositional English phrase, so a B1 learner knowing the parts would not reliably derive the full meaning.

Etymology

Cycas revoluta may come from old words that describe how the plant looks: Cycas was used for palm-like plants and revoluta means 'rolled back', because the leaf edges often curl under. So the name helps you remember a small, palm-like plant with rolled leaves that is used for its starchy sago.