Cycadaceae. 3 
as a pot plant. There are possibly two more species cultivated in 
Honolulu : Cycas circinalis and Cycas media; these two seem to dif- 
fer from each other only in that the latter branches, sometimes from 
the base, while the former has a simple stem with open loose whorls 
of leaves; both attain a height of fifteen or more feet in this Terri- 
tory, while in some regions they reach a height of thirty-five feet, 
with trunks a foot and a half in diameter. A form of >tarch called 
Sago is obtained from the trunk of this plant, though the true Sago 
is derived from the Sago palm (Metroxylon Sagus) a palm indigen- 
ous in the East Indian Archipelago where it flourishes in low marshy 
situations. Sago is used principally as an article of diet, it is very 
nutritious and easily digested, and does not contain irritative prop- 
erties. Sago is derived not only from the true Sago palm and from 
the so-called Sago palm, which is our Cycas revoluta, but also from 
a number of other plants belonging to different families. 
Cycas circinalis L. 
Plate I. 
Cycas circinalis L. is a palm-like tree of small stature differing 
from the so-called Sago palm Cycas revoluta in its taller stem and 
large open crown of leaves which are much longer than those of Cycas 
revoluta, often measuring six and a half feet. The trunk is usually 
single but often branching when the top has been cut off. There seems 
to be a doubt in regard to the systematic value of Cycas media, a 
species supposedly cultivated in these Islands. The latter has been 
described from Australia and is said to reach often a height of thirty 
to sixty feet and is rarely branched. The male cones of the latter 
are of various sizes but apparently smaller than in Cycas circinalis; 
otherwise the two species resemble each other. 
Cycas circinalis bears nuts which are poisonous in their crude 
state, but are used for food by the natives of Guam after having 
been macerated in water and cooked. It is a native of the Moluccas 
but is found wild in Guam and in the mountains of the Alalabar 
coast in India and also in Ceylon. The trunk also contains Sago. 
The seeds are so poisonous that even the water in which the seeds 
have been steeped is fatal to chickens. The seeds are usually ground 
into flour, and cakes are made which are baked like tortillas on a 
griddle. This is practiced in Guam as well as by the Cinghalese of 
Ceylon but only in times of scarcity. Among the Cinghalese it is re- 
puted a remedy for some disorders. 
The beautiful growth of this Cycas makes it a very desirable 
