Metroxylon warburgii Becc.

A sago palm. There is only one trunk. It is about 7 m high. The trunk is 30 cm across. The trunk tapers from about the middle to the top. The leaves are dark green and about 3 m long. They arch over. The leaflets grow at an angle giving a V shaped leaf. The flower is at the top of the palm. It is very large with thousands of small yellow flowers. The flowering stalk is about 3 m long. The flowering stalk is branched 3 times. The fruit are pear shaped and brown. They are about 12 cm long by 9 cm wide. These are covered with an intricate pattern of scales. The fruit are held erect. The palm dies after flowering.

It is a tropical plant. It grows in low swampy areas and hill slopes at low altitude. It originally came from Vanuatu and the Santa Cruz islands of the Solomon Islands.

The stem starch is eaten. The young fruit are eaten raw after the thick skin has been peeled off.

Plants are grown by seed.