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Cycas hongheensis

(Cycad)

Overview

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Critically Endangered

Threat status

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Cycad

Description

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Family Cycadaceae

Trees or shrubs evergreen , dioecious, mostly palmlike; trunk columnar , sometimes dichotomously branched at apex, rarely ovoid-bulbous and subterranean , clothed with bases of fallen leaves; bark often thickened and roughened. Leaves borne at apex of trunk, 1(-3) -pinnately compound , spirally arranged ; new leaves erect (or somewhat inflexed and appearing coiled in C. multipinnata group), with circinnate leaflets ; petiole with spines representing (reduced basal leaflets), rarely unarmed , base swollen and hairy ; leaflets numerous , alternate to subopposite, dichotomously branched in a few species, midvein present, margin usually entire. Cataphylls prominent , alternate with leaves, hairy, apex often rigid and pungent . Pollen cones borne at apex of trunk, cylindric or fusiform ; microsporophylls numerous, scalelike, spirally and tightly arranged along axis of cone, with numerous microsporangia in groups abaxially; pollen tubes producing 2 motile sperm cells . Megasporophylls several to numerous, somewhat leaflike, alternating with flushes of leaves, arranged in a loose , "conelike" crown surrounding apex of trunk, each with a linear fertile stalk and an apical, pinnatifid or subentire sterile blade ; ovules (1 or) 2-5 on each side of stalk. Seeds drupelike, somewhat compressed ; seed coat 3-layered, consisting of colored sarcotesta , woody sclerotesta , and membranous endotesta . Cotyledons 2, united at base. Germination hypogeal, cryptocotylar . 2n = 22*.

One genus and ca. 60 species: E Africa (including Madagascar), E and S Asia, N Australia, Pacific Islands; 16 species (eight endemic) in China.

Ornamental species include Cycas revoluta, which is widely cultivated worldwide. Other species (e.g. , C. circinalis Linnaeus, C. media R. Brown, C. pectinata, C. rumphii Miquel, C. taitungensis, and C. thouarsii R. Brown) have excellent ornamental qualities. The stem starch , "sago" (not to be confused with the true sago as obtained from palms of the genus Metroxylon Rottboøll), is edible and is used in packing brewers’ yeast after the removal of cycasins which are highly toxic and carcinogenic . A paste of Cycas seeds and coconut oil is used for the treatment of skin complaints, wounds, ulcers, sores, and boils .[1]

Genus Cycas

Morphological characters and geographical distribution are the same as those for the family .[2]

Physical Description

Habit: Evergreen .

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 36-48" tall.

Habitat

Biome: Terrestrial [3].

Ecology: Plants are found in low open vine thickets, often with succulent Euphorbia species, and most often rooted in clefts and crevices, often with little or no soil at the roots . This species is apparently endemic to these seasonally dry limestone outcrops. In general it is dry and hot in sunny forests with sparse trees on sharp limestone slopes .[3].

List of Habitats :

Biology

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Growth

Culture: Space 36-48" apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 2004

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Cycas

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 52 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

C. angulata (Cycad) · C. annaikalensis (Annaikal Cycas (India)) · C. armstrongii (Australian Cycad) · C. beddomei (Andhra Pradesh Cycas) · C. bifida (Fork-Leafed Cycad) · C. bougainvilleana (Cycad) · C. cairnsiana (Australian Cycas) · C. campestris (Cycad) · C. candida (White Seed Sago) · C. chamaoensis (Cycad) · C. changjiangensis (Cycad) · C. circinalis (Crozier Cycas) · C. clivicola (Cliff Cycad) · C. couttsiana (Cycad) · C. curranii (Currans Pitogo) · C. debaoensis (Cycad) · C. diannanensis (Cycad) · C. dolichophylla (Cycad) · C. edentata (Cycad) · C. elephantipes (Cycad) · C. falcata (Cycad) · C. ferruginea (Cycad) · C. hainanensis (Hainan Cycas) · C. hongheensis (Cycad) · C. kedia (Australian Nut Palm) · C. litoralis (Cycad) · C. media (Cycad) · C. micholitzii (Micholtzis Sago) · C. nongnoochiae (Nong Nooch Sago) · C. ophiolitica (Marlbourough Blue Cycad) · C. pachypoda (Cycad) · C. panzhihuaensis (Cycad) · C. pectinata (Cycad) · C. petraea (Loei Cycad) · C. platyphylla (Cycad) · C. revoluta (Japanese Sago Palm) · C. revoluta 'Aurea' (Japanese Sago Palm) · C. revoluta 'Showa' (Japanese Sago Palm) · C. riuminiana (Arayat Pitogo) · C. rumphii (Ceylon Sago) · C. sexseminifera (Dwarf Sago) · C. siamensis (Cycad) · C. simplicipinna (Cycad) · C. szechuanensis (Guizhou Cycas) · C. taitungensis (Prince Sago) · C. taiwaniana (Cycad) · C. thouarsii (Madagascar Cycad) · C. tropophylla (Ha Long Cycad) · C. wadei (Wades Pitogo) · C. 'Nova Loei' (Cycad) · C. 'Nova Meeldijk' (Cycad) · C. 'Wilailak' (Cycad)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Jiarui Chen & Dennis W. Stevenson "Cycadaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 4 Page 1. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Cycas". in Flora of China Vol. 4 Page 1. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Bösenberg, J.D. 2010. Cycas hongheensis. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 31 January 2012. [back]
Last Revised: 7/19/2012