Sago climbing habit; the leaves are pinnate. Each palm trunk produces a single inflorescence at its tip at the end of its life. Sago palms are harvested at the age of 7–15 years, just before or shortly after the inflorescence appears and when the stems are full of starch stored for use in reproduction. One palm can yield 150–300 kg of starch. Sago is extracted from "Metroxylon" palms by splitting the stem lengthwise and removing the pith which is then crushed and kneaded to release the starch before being washed and strained to extract the starch from the fibrous residue. The
Luwu Regency and East Lamasi with a total population of 91,885 in 2010. The most known culinary in Luwu is "kepurung" ("kapurung", "pugalu", "bugalu", "kapeda") which is made from sago plant ("Metroxylon sagu"). There is "dange" which is made from sago too. The other culinary is "pacco" and "bagea". Luwu is known as a fruit producer, such as durian, "langsat" ("Lansium parasiticum"), rambutan, and many others. Luwu is the origin of the longest epic in the world, La Galigo that created before Mahabharata. Some manuscript of I La Galigo is saved in European Museums, like in Leiden University Library. I La Galigo