| Metroxylon | |
|---|---|
_in_New_Guinea.jpg) | |
| 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 agenus ofmonoeciousflowering plants in theArecaceae (palm) family, and commonly called thesago palms consisting of sevenspecies. They are native toWestern Samoa,New Guinea, theSolomon Islands, theMoluccas, theCarolines andFiji in a variety of habitats, and cultivated westward toThailand andMalaya.[3]
The name is a combination of two Greek words:metra meaning "womb", commonly translated as "heart" in this context, andxylon meaning "wood", in allusion to the large proportion of pith contained in the plant.
Thetrunks ofMetroxylon species are solitary or clumped and large to massive in size, and usually sprout aerial roots at leaf-scar rings. All but one ismonocarpic (hapaxanthic),foliage ispinnate with oversizedpetioles and leaf sheaths. The petioles are distinguished by "groups of small black spines resembling the record made by aseismograph as it registers a mild tremor".[4] All species have spines on therachis and petiole. The monocarpic species present aChristmas tree shapedinflorescence, or instead, upward-reaching branches spreading horizontally. Thesepanicles are second only toCorypha spp in size, in the case ofMetroxylon salomonense growing up to thirty feet (nine meters) in height by up to fifteen feet (4.6 meters) in width.[5] Thefruit, covered in tough shiny scales arranged in precise rows, are relatively large for palms and contain oneseed.[4]
It contains the following species[6][7][3][2]
| Image | Name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Metroxylon amicarum(H.Wendl.)Hook.f. | Caroline ivory-nut palm | Pohnpei,Chuuk |
| Metroxylon paulcoxiiMcClatchey | Samoa | ||
 | Metroxylon saguRottb. | Sago palm | New Guinea,Maluku |
| Metroxylon salomonense(Warb.)Becc. | Solomon palm | New Guinea, Maluku,Solomon Islands,Santa Cruz Islands,Bismarck Archipelago,Vanuatu | |
| Metroxylon upoluenseBecc. | Samoa | ||
 | Metroxylon vitiense(H.Wendl.)Hook.f. | Fiji sago palm | Wallis and Futuna,Fiji |
 | Metroxylon warburgii(Heimerl)Becc. | natangura palm[8] | Santa Cruz Islands, Samoa, Vanuatu |
Authority control databases: National |
|---|
