Species guide

Sago palm

Toxic if eaten

Cycas revoluta

Sago palm
Photo: sucker69420 · CC BY

How to recognise it

A palm-like rosette of stiff, spiky, dark-green fronds growing from a shaggy trunk. It's not a true palm but a cycad.

Is it dangerous?

Highly toxic if eaten — the seeds especially. It causes liver failure in dogs and is often fatal even with treatment.

What to do

Keep pets well away from the plant and its seeds, and get emergency veterinary care immediately if a pet eats any part.

Never decide what's safe to eat or touch from a photo or a web page. Identification here is for learning and curiosity only. For anything you might eat, handle or that could harm you or a pet, consult a qualified local expert — and seek medical or veterinary care if exposure has happened.

Recorded 3,007 times in the wild worldwide.

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