Socfindo Conservation

Sago Palm

Metroxylon sagu Rottb.

Arecaceae

Location in our garden

Sago Palm 1Sago Palm 2Sago Palm 3

Overview

The sago palm probably originates from New Guinea and the Moluccas but has only recently been dispersed for research beyond South-East Asia and the nearby Pacific islands.The plant is commonly harvested from the wild for its many uses. Word sago is originally Javanese, meaning starch containing palm pith.

Vernacular Names

Pohon sagu (Indonesia), Lumbia (Philippines), Sa khu (Thailand), Tha-gu-bin (Myanmar), Sak-sak (Papua New Guinea), Palma da sago (Italy), Palmier sagoutier (France), Sagopalme (German).

Agroecology

Natural stands of sago palm occur on swampy coastal plains, river floodplains and higher up on flat valley floors lowland tropical climates where it is found at elevations from sea level to 700 m. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 25-36 °C and on clay soils with a high organic-matter content. 

Morphology

  • Stems - 30-60 cm in diameter, 7-20 m tall, lower part ringed with leaf scars.
  • Leaves - simply pinnate, petiole very robust, widening at its base into a stem-clasping sheath.
  • Flowers - terminal panicle, straight to curving upward, morphologically constituting separate lateral inflorescences arranged spirally on the main stem in the axils. 3-merous with 6 stamens.
  • Fruits - depressed-globose to obconical drupe, rhomboid, pointing downwards, greenish-yellow, turning straw-coloured towards or after fruit fall.
  • Seeds - subglobose, firmly embedded in shiny cream-coloured firm flesh which turns pinkish when exposed to air; testa dark brown.

Cultivation

  • Propagated by seeds - pre-soak for 24 hours in warm water and sow in containers. Germination usually takes several months.
  • Division of suckers - the suckers have the advantage of being readily available and of producing homogeneous offspring, which allows selection of superior forms.

Chemical Constituents

Alkaloid, tannin, lignin, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, flavonoid and phenolic.

Benefits

  • Studies showed antidiarrheal, antibacterial, antioxidant and antifertiity activities.
  • In Malaya, as an excipient in making poultices for shingles.
  • In Papua New Guinea, stem sap is applied to forehead to ease headaches. Starch from plant trunk mixed with water and drunk for diarrhea and stomach pains. Starch paste applied to burns. Leaf used to cover fresh or infected sores until they heal. Liquid starch given to newborns to treat enlarged spleen.
  • In South Kalimantan, fresh roots of sago used as antidiarrheal.
  • Used as traditional antifertiity medicine by Dayak people in Central Kalimantan.

Simplisia

Not yet documented.

Plant Parts Used

Sago Palm part 1
Sago Palm part 2
Sago Palm part 3
Sago Palm part 4

Traditional Recipes

1. Puding diet rendah kalori

1. 1. Puding diet rendah kalori

  • Siapkan 200 g sagu ambon, rendam selama 2 jam, 1 sdt kulit jeruk lemon, 1 putih telur, 600 ml santan, 60 g gula palem, 1 btg serai (memarkan).
  • Saus: 200 g jambu biji merah iris kecil, 2 sdm jahe cincang, 100 ml air matang, 50 g gula pasir.
  • Olesi cetakan dengan minyak sayur. Campur santan, gula, serai, dan kulit jeruk, masak sambil diaduk sampai mengental dan bening. Angkat, keluarkan serai dari sagu.
  • Kocok putih telur hingga kaku, perlahan masukkan pada adonan sagu sambil diaduk rata. Tuang pada cetakan, dan biarkan hingga dingin dan membeku (10-15 potong). Keluarkan dari cetakan. Saus: haluskan jambu dengan blender, masak di atas api kecil bersama jahe, air, dan gula. Sajikan puding bersama saus (jumlah kalori per potong 115 kalori).
2. Luka

2. 2. Luka

  • Ambil daun rumbia secukupnya, cuci hingga bersih.
  • Tumbuk daun hingga halus.
  • Tempelkan pada bagian yang luka.

Reference Sources

  1. Flach, M. & Rumawas, F. 1999. Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 9: Plants yielding non-seed carbohydrates. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia.
  2. Metroxylon sagu Rottb. in GBIF Secretariat (2021). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2021-12-01.
  3. Orwa C, A Mutua, Kindt R , Jamnadass R, S Anthony. 2009 Agroforestree Database:a tree reference and selection guide version 4.0 (http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sites/treedbs/treedatabases.asp).