It’s not a Fern… It’s not a Palm… It’s a Cycad!
It’s not a Fern… It’s not a Palm… It’s a Cycad!
What are cycads?
Cycads are plants that have been around since the age of the dinosaurs. They look a bit like ferns or palms, but actually they aren’t closely related to either of those plants. Cycads’ closest living relatives are pine trees--and like pine trees, cycads have sturdy, stiff, evergreen leaves and cycads produce cones, not flowers.
Cycad Cones
There are fewer than 300 described cycad species, found mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, primarily in central and southern Africa, Australia, South and Central America, the Caribbean, and throughout Asia and the Pacific Islands.
You might have never heard the word “cycad,” but you’ve probably seen the most common cycad, Cycas revoluta, often called the “Sago Palm.” A popular landscape plant, Cycas revoluta has the radial symmetry typical of these striking and architectural-looking plants.
Cycas revoluta -- The Sago Palm
Cycads’ dramatic and distinctive appearance and their general hardiness is making them increasingly popular for use in contemporary landscape designs. These plants are beautiful and their long history gives them an air of majesty, even mystery.
Many cycads are endangered as a result of habitat encroachment and poaching and are now protected by international law. Collectors and cycad enthusiasts have been known to go to extreme lengths to obtain rare or large cycad specimens.
At our nursery, we work hard to promote the sale of nursery- and garden-grown cycads. Helping put seed-grown cycads in people’s gardens is part of our mission to help re-populate the world with these historically significant plants.
Do you remember your first encounter with a cycad, either in someone’s yard or in a botanical garden? If you do, please share your first impression of these unusual, ancient plants in a comment below.