Sago Palm: A Toxic Indoor and Outdoor Plant

by Sylvia Sloan, Fairfax Master Gardener
Sago PalmCycas revoluta, commonly known as sago palm, is a popular ornamental plant in the United States. While it has a palm-like appearance, it is not a true palm but a cycad, native to China and Japan. It is frequently grown as a houseplant displayed in sunrooms or on patios, and in tropical/sub-tropical landscapes as borders or accent specimens.

All parts of this plant are poisonous. Ingestion of any part of the plant may cause permanent internal damage or death. Symptoms of poisoning may include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dizziness, tachycardia, seizures and liver failure. Pets are attracted to this plant. Pet symptoms of poisoning also include nosebleeds, bruising and blood in stools.

C. revoluta is an evergreen member of an ancient plant family known as Cycadaceae, dating back 200 million years. It is slow-growing and may take up to 50 or more years to reach 10 feet in height. It can range in size from 3 to 10 feet tall and 3 to 10 feet wide. The shiny, palm-like leaves (which grow from the shaggy trunk) have spiny tips, and the margins of the leaves roll downward. The leaves are pinnate or feather-like and may be 3 to 7 feet long and 10 inches wide, depending on the age of the plant. Each leaf is divided into many 3- to 6-inch needle-like leaflets. The fronds grow in a circular pattern that creates a rosette pattern.

Sago palm cone

Sago palm cone

The Sago palm does not flower, but produces cones with exposed seeds (gymnosperm), similar to pines and fir trees. The plant is dioecious (requiring male and female plants to produce seeds). The male plant produces elliptical-shaped yellowish pollen cones, and the female plant produces round cones that produce seeds when pollinated. The seeds (pollinated by insects or the wind) are orange to red in color. Pollination occurs from April to June, and the seeds mature from September to October.

It rarely produces cones when grown as a houseplant indoors. In addition to cones, sago palms can reproduce through pups. Pups are new plants growing off the main plant. Pups can be removed or left on the main plant; leaving pups in place will result in a multi-stemmed plant. If pups are removed, this should be done early on. To grow new plants from pups, place them in clean soil and keep them moist (but not wet). It may take several months for the pups to develop roots.

The Sago palm requires very little maintenance and prefers bright, indirect sun. If the plant is grown indoors, it prefers filtered sunlight for four to six hours each day. The soil should be moist and well-drained. It is intolerant to overwatering and poor drainage. Outdoors, it is drought tolerant when established and prefers sandy, loamy soils with a pH acid to neutral. The Sago Palm will not survive if the temperature drops below 15 degrees Fahrenheit.