It is planted for its neat symmetry and its indifference to drought, so it sits at the entrance of hotels and in the beds of rental houses all along the coast. It is also one of the most reliably fatal things a dog can chew, and most dog owners here have never heard that.
Where you’ll see it
Landscaped gardens, hotel entrances, condo complexes and pots. Common wherever someone wanted a tough architectural plant.
What to know
Sago palm is a cycad, an ancient group unrelated to true palms. Every part contains cycasin, which destroys the liver, and the orange seeds hold the most. Dogs chew them. The mortality rate in poisoned dogs is high even with treatment, and treatment has to start before symptoms, so a suspected chew is a straight drive to the vet.
If you have dogs, look at what is planted where they roam, and take this one out. A rental with dogs should ask the owner to remove it. It is a beautiful plant that belongs in a garden without animals.
