sago

noun

A starchy food obtained from the Indonesian sago palms (Metoxylon sagu and M. rumphii), cultivated in Malaysia. The palms, up to 9 m high, take 15 years to mature and are harvested just before flowering. The starchy pith in their stems is extracted, ground, and washed to make flour or pearl sago. The pithy stems of a tropical Asian cycad, Cycas circinalis, also called sago palm, are used as a source of sago. The plant has ornamental fernlike leaves.