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 to palms or ferns, they are sometimes mistaken for them, but they are not closely related to either group. Cycads are gymnosperms (naked-seeded), meaning their unfertilized seeds are open to the air to be directly fertilized by pollination, as contrasted with angiosperms, which have enclosed seeds with more complex fertilization arrangements. Cycads have very specialized pollinators, usually a specific species of beetle. Both male and female cycads bear cones (strobili), somewhat similar to conifer cones.
Falcatifolium is a genus of conifers of the family Podocarpaceae. The genus includes evergreen dioecious shrubs and large trees of up to 36 metres (118 ft). Five species are presently recognized. The genus was first described by de Laubenfels in 1969, and is composed of species formerly classified in genus Dacrydium.
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.
The Zamiaceae are a family of cycads that are superficially palm or fern-like. They are divided into two subfamilies with eight genera and about 150 species in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Australia and North and South America.
Zamia is a genus of cycad of the family Zamiaceae, native to North America from the United States throughout the West Indies, Central America, and South America as far south as Bolivia. The genus is considered to be the most ecologically and morphologically diverse of the cycads, and is estimated to have originated about 68.3 million years ago.
Actinostrobus is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae. Common names include cypress, sandplain-cypress and cypress-pine, the last of these shared by the closely related genus Callitris.
Athrotaxis is a genus of two to three species of conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. The genus is endemic to western Tasmania, where they grow in high-elevation temperate rainforests.
Macrozamia communis is an Australian cycad found on the east coast of New South Wales. The common name for the species is burrawang, a word derived from the Daruk Australian Aboriginal language; this name is also often applied to other species of Macrozamia.
Encephalartos is a genus of cycad native to Africa. Several species of Encephalartos are commonly referred to as bread trees, bread palms or kaffir bread, since a bread-like starchy food can be prepared from the centre of the stem. The genus name is derived from the Greek words en (within), kephalē (head), and artos (bread), referring to the use of the pith to make food. They are, in evolutionary terms, some of the most primitive living gymnosperms.
Dioon is a genus of cycads in the family Zamiaceae. It is native to Mexico and Central America. Their habitats include tropical forests, pine-oak forest, and dry hillsides, canyons and coastal dunes.
Lepidozamia is a genus of two species of cycad, both endemic to Australia. They are native to rainforest climates in eastern Queensland and eastern New South Wales. They have a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 18.
Ceratozamia is a genus of New World cycads in the family Zamiaceae. The genus contains 27 known currently living species and one or two fossil species. Most species are endemic to mountainous areas of Mexico, while few species extend into the mountains of Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. The genus name comes from the Greek ceras, meaning horn, which refers to the paired, spreading horny projections on the male and female sporophylls of all species.
Lepidozamia hopei, commonly known as Hope's cycad or Zamia palm, is a species of cycad in the family Zamiaceae, endemic to the Australian state of Queensland.
Macrozamia dyeri, known as djeeri, is a species of plant in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to Western Australia, occurring near Esperance. The seeds are consumable when prepared correctly and were an important resource to people of the region, but the plant is otherwise toxic to many species.
Macrozamia glaucophylla is a species of cycad from the genus Macrozamia and the family Zamiaceae. Endemic to New South Wales, Australia, this species has features that resembles palms, although both species are taxonomically quite different. The current population trend of Macrozamia glaucophylla is stable with 2,500 to 10,000 mature individuals. The species are found in several habitats including forest and savanna. Ecologically, Macrozamia glaucophylla lives in terrestrial system, a land-based community of organisms where the biotic and abiotic components interact in the given area.
Macrozamia heteromera is a species of cycad in the family Zamiaceae initially discovered by Charles Moore in 1858 and is endemic to New South Wales, Australia. It can be found in the north-western region of New South Wales within the Warrumbungle mountains and further south west towards the Coonabarabran district. It is a low trunked cycad usually at a height below 1 metre and can be found in dry sclerophyll woodlands. M. heteromera can be distinguished from the rest of the Macrozamia genus by its mid-green, narrow, usually divided pinnae and divided seedling pinnae. It is a plant that has toxic seeds and leaves, a characteristic common to cycads. However, after proper preparation and procedure, the seeds are fine for consumption.
Macrozamia mountperriensis is a species of plant in the family Zamiaceae endemic to the area around Mount Perry in Queensland; however, it is not considered threatened due to its large population in the area. The species was discovered by colonial botanists including Frederick Manson Bailey and James Keys in the late 1800s. All members of the Zamiaceae family are considered to be poisonous.
Macrozamia riedlei, commonly known as a zamia or zamia palm, is a species of cycad in the plant family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to southwest Australia and often occurs in jarrah forests. It may only attain a height of half a metre or form an above trunk up to two metres with long arching fronds of a similar length. The giant cones amidst the crown of palm-like fronds contain edible seeds surrounded by red sarcotesta. The seeds are consumed by birds and animals, and can be a favoured part of the human diet when prepared correctly. M. riedlei benefits from a close association with bacteria that fix nitrogen, which also produce substances found throughout the plant that are toxic to some animals when consumed. The species is cultivated for ornamental use in urban and domestic environments.
Macrozamia spiralis is a species of cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to New South Wales in eastern Australia, where it is found in sclerophyll forest on low-nutrient soils. Plants generally lack a trunk and have 2–12 leaves that range up to 100 cm (40 in) in length.
