- Cycadsgrove of sago palms image by Joann Cooper from Fotolia.com
Considered "living fossils," cycads are fern-like seed plants that make up Phylum Cycadophyta. Cycads played a major part in Mesozoic ecosystems. Today they are limited to three families that grow only in tropical and subtropical regions. Cycads are popular landscaping plants in temperate environments because of their unusual, prehistoric look. Many cycads are considered endangered species because of habitat destruction and collection. - Cycads have a crown of tough, divided, fern- or palm-like evergreen leaves surrounding single, straight, round trunks. The soft trunks consist of leaf and storage tissues. Cycads produce large seeds on their fronds, as well as large and sometimes elaborate cones. Some varieties grow upwards of 50 feet tall.
- There are over 250 living species of cycads. Common varieties such as King Sago and Cardboard cycads are commonly confused with palm trees.
- Cycads are dioecious, which means that there are separate male and female plants. Cycads can reproduce asexually or sexually. To reproduce asexually, a cycad sends out shoots or suckers called pups, which will grow into a new plant that is a genetic copy of the parent plant. Sexual reproduction occurs when wind and insects pollinate seeds.
- Cycads grow naturally on every continent except Europe and Antarctica, in limited tropical and subtropical environments. Cycads inhabit rain forests, dry temperate forests and savanna grasslands.
- Cycads are one of the earliest seed plants. They evolved during the Pennsylvanian Period, about 300 million years ago. However, they were most common during the Mesozoic era, and may have been an important food source for dinosaurs.
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