Cycas circinalis L. | |
Cycadaceae | |
Eentha panai/ Katu thuvai | |
| Botanical Name | Cycas circinalis L. |
| Synonyms | -- |
| Family | Cycadaceae |
| Common Name | English: Queen sago / Tamil: Eentha panai, Katu thuvai |
| Distribution | Global: Endemic to Southern India and Sri Lanka. Introduced as ornamental to tropical countries Indian: Southern India |
| Description | : Evergreen trees with terminal crown grows up to 8m height, trunk with alternating scale and foliage leaf bases, bark thick. Leaf crown at apex 20-25 pinnately compound leaves, petiolate with short spines at margin, each leaf consists of 62 – 135 pairs of leaflets. Plant dioecious male and female cones produced separately can be identified only during cone formation. Male cone - microsporophyll densely aggregated to form large terminal cones, stalked, compact, narrowly ovoid, woody, light brown to orange in colour, it has an average of 700 microsporophyll, horizontal or flattened with narrow basal portion, upper part with pointed apical spine, sporangia occur in abaxial side in a group of 3 or 4 microsporangia. Pollen grain light yellow, powdery, and spherical. Female cone represents by cluster of megasporophylls at apex of stem, loosely arranged, ovules 1-5 arranged on either side of megasporophyll. Seed globose. |
| Flowering Fruiting period | April - June |
| Uses | Planted as ornamental in garden and as indoor plant. Soaked seed edible after complete washing. |
| Medicinal Uses | The bark and seeds are made in to paste with oil and used as poultice on sore and swellings. Tender leaf juice used for the treatment of flatulence and vomiting. |
| Tamil Name | Eentha panai/ Katu thuvai |