Caroline Ivory Nut Palm (Metroxylon amicarum)

Family: Arecaceae | Edibility: Edible (3/5)

Metroxylon amicarum or Caroline Ivory Nut Palm is endemic to the Caroline Islands. It grows usually about 20 m in height. The trunk has distinguished leaf-scar rings. The leaves are pinnate and dark green. The pith of the tree is used to make sago. The palm heart is eaten raw as a vegetable or cooked as ingredient in dishes. The roots, young leaves, and stem cork, on the other hand, are used in traditional medicine.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Nuts/Seeds, Shoots

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring

Flavor & Culinary Uses

Sago is sometimes prepared from the pith of this tree. It is said to keep well and not to be injured by salt water. It is considered a valuable food to take on canoe journeys. — Sago is sometimes prepared from the pith of this tree.; It is said to keep well and not to be injured by salt water.; It is considered a valuable food to take on canoe journeys.; Not as productive as the sago palm (Metroxylon sagu), it is more likely to be viewed as an emergency food.

Habitat & North American Range

Moist forest at elevations up to 550 metres in mountainous areas. Freshwater wetlands, either coastal or moist upland rainforest. (Zone 10)