ABSTRACT
This chapter provides information on uses, folk medicine, chemistry, germplasm, distribution, ecology, cultivation, harvesting, yields, energy, and biotic factors of Cycad Nut and Sotesu Nut. Exported from Japan as an ornamental, Cycas revoluta is used in Japan for bonsai. According to Thieret, the fleshy testa (sweet and mucilaginous) and the starchy kernels are both eaten. The roasted kernels, like so many other nondescripts, are said to taste like chestnuts. Seeds are eaten by the Annamese of China, though preparation is tough. Reported to be emmenagogue, expectorant, fattening, and tonic, C. revoluta is a folk remedy for hepatoma and tumors. The down from the inflorescence has been used as a styptic, the terminal shoot as astringent, and diuretic. Seeds used as astringent, emmenagogue, expectorant, and tonic, used for rheumatism. Rarely cultivated for food, more often cultivated as an ornamental. Easily propagated from suckers or sprouts at the base of parent plants.
