FAMILY: CYCADACEAE

ALTERNATE COMMON NAME:

LEAVES: long (2-3’), pinnate arrangement of leaflets; sharp, pointed, sharp teeth on petioles

FLOWER: dioecious, staminate cone 1-2”

FRUIT: on modified leaves, produces 1” diameter, flattened, bright red seeds

TWIGS: none

BARK: palm-like, covered in leaf scars or petiole bases

FORM: rosette arrangement of leave on short stem; pups form around base of trunk on older trees; pups can be transplanted during summer to propagate

HABITAT: urban, home sites

RANGE: only cycad that will grow this far north; exotic

USES: ornamental in US; starch extracted from roots and stem where native

Best Recognition Features:

1. long, very sharply-pointed, feather leaves
2. rosette leaf arrangement
3. trunk less than 6 feet tall

NOTE:   this is not a true palm, which are angiosperms (a monocot), but a gymnosperm, like pine trees