Cycas revoluta

Cycas revoluta (sago palm, king sago, sago cycad, Japanese sago palm) is a species of gymnosperm in the family Cycadaceae, native to southern Japan including the Ryukyu Islands. It is one of several species used for the production of sago, as well as an ornamental plant. Cycads' only relation to the true palms (Arecaceae) is that both are seed plants. The Latin specific epithet revoluta means 'curled back', in reference to the leaves. This is also called Kungi (comb) Palm in Urdu speaking areas. In Japanese, it is called Sotetsu (ソテツ). This very symmetrical plant supports a crown of shiny, dark green leaves on a thick shaggy trunk that is typically about 20 cm (7.9 in) in diameter, sometimes wider. The trunk is very low to subterranean in young plants, but lengthens above ground with age. It can grow into very old specimens with 6–7 m (over 20 feet) of trunk; however, the plant is very slow-growing and requires about 50–100 years to achieve this height. Trunks can branch several times, thus producing multiple heads of leaves.