Metroxylon | |
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Metroxylon sagu | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Arecales |
Family: | Arecaceae |
Subfamily: | Calamoideae |
Tribe: | Calameae |
Genus: | Metroxylon Rottb.[1] |
Species[2] | |
Synonyms[3] | |
Metroxylon is a genus of monoecious flowering plants in the Arecaceae (palm) family, and commonly called the sago palms consisting of seven species. They are native to Western Samoa, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Moluccas, the Carolines and Fiji in a variety of habitats, and cultivated westward to Thailand and Malaya.[3]
The name is a combination of two Greek words: metra meaning "womb", commonly translated as "heart" in this context, and xylon meaning "wood", in allusion to the large proportion of pith contained in the plant.