220) PHILIPPINE PALMS 
and sometimes by children. Young plants of this and allied 
species are very frequently cultivated in pots or tubs in Manila 
and other large towns for ornamental purposes. In other coun- 
tries the leaves of Livistona are used for making fans. 
The statements made above regarding Livistona rotundifolia 
will apply to most or all of our Philippine forms. 
Genus METROXYLON Rottboell 
Only a single species of this genus is definitely known from 
the Philippines, and this has been identified as Metroxylon sagu 
Rottb. (M. rumphii Mart.). At least two forms occur, the 
spiny and the spineless ones. 
METROXYLON SAGU Rottb. (Plate XXXVII).  LumMBIA or SAGO PALM. 
Local names: Ambélong, ambilong, bagsdng, langdang, lumbar, lumbia, 
lumbiag, sagu (Bisaya); lumbia (Bagobo). 
This palm has pinnate leaves 6 to 9 meters long. The stems 
are very thick and grow in clumps. It is widely distributed 
in the central and southern Philippines, but in many regions 
is only planted, this probably being true of all parts of the 
Bisaya islands, north of Mindanao. It has been reported from 
Cebu, Negros, Panay, Bohol, Siquijor, and from many parts 
of Mindanao. It grows in valleys and along streams, and is 
especially abundant in the extensive fresh-water swamps of the 
Agusan valley in Mindanao. 
Most of the sago of commerce is produced from this tree. 
While sago is produced in the Philippines for local use, it does 
not enter into the external commerce of the Archipelago; in 
fact a considerable amount of sago is annually imported. Ac- 
cording to data given by Heyne the annual export of sago from 
the Dutch East Indies is at least 15,000 tons.* Sago is one 
of the important exports from Sarawak. 
In the Philippines, sago is extracted by the crudest methods. 
The tree is felled, and the crushed or macerated pith is washed 
in troughs; the starch, which is carried in suspension in the 
water, being then allowed to settle. After several washings 
the starch is dried and stored for use. Sometimes the pith is 
cut into strips and dried, the dried strips pulverized in mortars, 
and then washed as needed. Delgado states that occasionally 
the fresh pith is toasted and eaten although it is somewhat 
bitter. The buds are edible. Delgado; says that tuba is 
sometimes secured from this palm, but this practice, described 
by him in 1753, is apparently very rare, or perhaps obsolete. 

* De Nuttige Planten van Nederlandsch Indié. Volume 1 (1913), page 61. 
+ Delgado, J. J., Historia General de Filipinas, pages 666 and 667. 
