also: サゴやし · さごやし
sago palm
Refers specifically to the palm species Metroxylon sagu, which produces sago starch.
The sago palm grows naturally in the wetlands of Southeast Asia.
Starch can be extracted from the trunk of the sago palm.
Kanji-katakana hybrid spelling; 椰子 is the kanji for palm tree.
Full kanji spelling using 沙穀 for sago; very rare and likely archaic or specialized.
From English 'sago' (ultimately from Malay 'sagu') plus Japanese 椰子 (yashi, 'palm').