Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Cycas revoluta

Cycas revoluta

9.9
A small plant like a palm from Japan that gives starch from its trunk
  • noun
  • /ˈsaɪkəs rɛˈvoʊlʊtə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : 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.