Manicaria saccifera Gaertn.

Tree to 10 m., usually growing in colonies, trunks to 30 cm. diameter and two of them often coalesced at base and commonly inclined or leaning, with aerial roots at base: leaves inclined and finally lopped or hanging, to 10 m. long and 2 m. broad, the blade nearly entire to rather completely but very irregularly pinnate, texture coriaceous, glabrous; pinnae or segments 2 cm. or much more broad with strong midrib and indifferent parallel veins, 1 m. more or less long, not much narrowed and obliquely attached at base; petiole 1 m. or more long, soft and light, not woody: spadix a simple continuing axis, the rachillae simple and 25-30 cm. long: fruit when simple or-1-seeded essentially globular but somewhat tapered to base, 4-5 cm. diameter, when twin or triplet 7-8 cm. the long way, brown when dry, completely covered with angular tubercles.

A tropical plant. It grows in extensive stands in freshwater swamps. It also grows in seasonally flooded rainforest. It needs warm humid conditions. It does best in shade. It cannot stand temperatures below 10°C. It needs lots of moisture year round. It needs humus rich acid soils. In Brisbane Botanical Gardens hothouse.

The juice of the young fruit is eaten. The sago or starch is harvested from the stems. The seeds are a source of oil. The seeds have a hard seed coat but once rotting the inside is eaten.

Plants are grown from seed. Fresh seeds germinate in 4-6 months.