Cycas orientis | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Gymnospermae |
Division: | Cycadophyta |
Class: | Cycadopsida |
Order: | Cycadales |
Family: | Cycadaceae |
Genus: | Cycas |
Species: | C. orientis |
Binomial name | |
Cycas orientis K.D.Hill | |
Cycas orientis is a species of cycad native to East Arnhem Land in Australia's Northern Territory. [1] The species name "orientis" is derived from Latin and refers to the eastern distribution of the species in Arnhem Land.
Cycas orientis is a species of cycad native to dry, open forests. It is a medium to large cycad, reaching heights of up to 7 meters (23 feet). Its bright green, glossy leaves can grow up to 1.25 meters (4 feet) in length. This species is well-adapted to the unique monsoonal climate of the region, which is characterized by the hot and wet, and the hot and dry seasons. [2] Since the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, this species has changed very little. [3]
Sago is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of Metroxylon sagu. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is called saksak, rabia and sagu. The largest supply of sago comes from Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia. Large quantities of sago are sent to Europe and North America for cooking purposes. It is traditionally cooked and eaten in various forms, such as rolled into balls, mixed with boiling water to form a glue-like paste (papeda), or as a pancake.
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male or female. Cycads vary in size from having trunks only a few centimeters to several meters tall. They typically grow very slowly and live very long. Because of their superficial resemblance, they are sometimes mistaken for palms or ferns, but they are not closely related to either group.
Cycas is a genus of cycad, and the only genus in the family Cycadaceae with all other genera of cycad being divided between the Stangeriaceae and Zamiaceae families. Cycas circinalis, a species endemic to India, was the first cycad species to be described in western literature, and is the type species of the genus.
Cycas revoluta is a species of gymnosperm in the family Cycadaceae, native to southern Japan including the Ryukyu Islands. It is one of several species used for the production of sago, as well as an ornamental plant. The sago cycad can be distinguished by a thick coat of fibers on its trunk. The sago cycad is sometimes mistakenly thought to be a palm, although the only similarity between the two is that they look similar and both produce seeds.
Bush bread, or seedcakes, refers to the bread made by Aboriginal Australians by crushing seeds into a dough that is then baked. The bread is high in protein and carbohydrate, and forms part of a balanced traditional diet. It is also sometimes referred to as damper, although damper is more commonly used to describe the bread made by non-Indigenous people.
Cycas angulata is a species of cycad in the genus Cycas, native to Australia in northeast Northern Territory and northwest Queensland.
Cycas arenicola is a species of cycad in the genus Cycas, native to Australia, in the far north of Northern Territory in the basin of the upper East Alligator River in Arnhem Land. It grows in Eucalyptus woodlands on highly siliceous soils. They thrive in open situations.
Cycas armstrongii is a species of cycad in the genus Cycas, endemic to the Northern Territory of Australia. It is found from Darwin to the Mary River, the Finniss River in the west to the Arnhem Highway in the east, and north of Pine Creek. It also occurs on the Tiwi Islands and the Cobourg Peninsula.
Cycas arnhemica is a species of cycad in the genus Cycas, native to Australia, in the northwest of Northern Territory in Arnhem Land, after which it is named.
Cycas badensis is a species of cycad in the genus Cycas, native to Australia, in the extreme north of Queensland, where it is endemic on Badu Island in the Torres Strait Islands.
Cycas beddomei is a species of cycad in the genus Cycas, native to India, where it is confined to a small area of Andhra Pradesh state in the Tirumala Hills in scrubland and brush covered hills.
Cycas bifida is a species of cycad plant in the genus Cycas, native to southern China, and northern Vietnam.
Cycas cairnsiana is a species of cycad in the genus Cycas, native to northern Australia in northern Queensland on the Newcastle Range.
Cycas calcicola is a species of cycad in the genus Cycas, native to northern Australia in the northwest of Northern Territory.
Cycas circinalis, also known as the queen sago, is a species of cycad known in the wild only from southern India. Cycas circinalis is the only gymnosperm species found among native Sri Lankan flora.
Cycas media is a palm-like cone-bearing plant widespread in seasonally dry tropical sclerophyll woodlands close to the east coast of Queensland, with scattered occurrences also in northern Northern Territory and Western Australia, Australia. The dark green leathery, thick leaves are pinnately divided and grow in annual flushes from a massive apical bud. It is tolerant of bushfire and often re-foliates immediately following a dry season fire, before the beginning of the next rainy season. All plant parts are considered highly toxic. However, the seeds were eaten by Aboriginal Australians after careful and extensive preparation to remove the toxins.
Cycas pectinata was the fourth species of Cycas to be named; it was described in 1826 by Scottish surgeon and botanist Francis Buchanan-Hamilton from Kamrup, Assam in northeast India. The species is one of the most widespread cycads. It is found in the northeastern part of India, Nepal, Bhutan, northern Burma, southern China (Yunnan), Bangladesh, Burma, Malaysia, Cambodia, northern Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. Cycas pectinata usually grow at elevation 300 m to 1200 m and in difficult terrains. In China, it grows in dry, open thickets in limestone mountains, red soil in sparse monsoon forests. Cycas pectinata grows up to 40 feet (12 m) tall and has very large, ovoid male cones. The tallest Cycas pectinata is a female plant in North Kamrup, Assam which measures 52.8 feet (16.1 m). The tree is the world's tallest Cycas plant. In Northeast India, the species is under severe threat due to clearing of forest and overcollection of male cones for preparation of traditional medicines. The species is listed in CITES Appendix II and IUCN Redlist.
Cycas rumphii, commonly known as queen sago or the queen sago palm, is a dioecious gymnosperm, a species of cycad in the genus Cycas native to Indonesia, New Guinea and Christmas Island. Although palm-like in appearance, it is not a palm.
Cycas thouarsii, the Madagascar cycad, is an evergreen arborescent cycad in the genus Cycas. It is named after the French botanist Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars (1758—1831).
Cycas multipinnata, common name Royal Sago, is a species of cycad or Sago Palm in southwestern China and northern Vietnam. It is noteworthy for three things: First it is one of the tuberous species which some taxonomists segregate as the genus Epicycas. Secondly, it has the longest leaf stalks (petioles) of any Gymnosperm; up to 11.5 feet. Cultivated plants have had petioles as long as thirteen feet. The total length of the bipinnate frond can be up to 23 feet seven meters) The ultimate pinnules are Y-shaped. Thirdly, this very conspicuous plant escaped notice until 1994. Among Gymnosperms, these fronds are exceeded in mass only by Encephalartos laurentianus.