Cycas thouarsii

• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

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

Habitat

Ecology: Plants grow in open woodland or forest margins , usually near the coast. They occur sparsely as individuals or in small groups. Rainfall ranges between 1,000 to 3,000 mm per annum. It usually grows on sand or on coral formations.[3].

List of Habitats :

•     1     Forest   
  
•     1.5     Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry   
  
•     1.6     Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland   
  
•     13     Marine Coastal/Supratidal   
  
•     13.3     Marine Coastal/Supratidal - Coastal Sand Dunes   
[more info]

Biology

Growth

Culture: Space 8-10' apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Cycas circinalis • Cycas circinalis f. glauca (Miq.) J. Schust. • Cycas circinalis f. trigonocarpoides J. Schust. • Cycas circinalis madagascariensis (Miq.) J. Schust. • Cycas circinalis thouarsii (R. Br. Ex Gaudich.) Engler • Cycas comorensis Bruant • Cycas glaucophylla hort. ex Siebet & Voss • Cycas madagascariensis • Cycas madagascariensis Miq.

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 2004

Similar Species

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

• A naturalist in Madagascar: a record of observation, experiences, and impressions made during a period of over fifty years' intimate association with the natives and study of the animal & vegetable life of the island, by James Sibree. .. with 52 illustrations & 3 maps. London: Seeley, Service & co., limited, 1915. url p. 315, p. 41.
• Availability of Biodiversity Information for East Africa WCMC url p. 21.
• Check-list of the species of fishes known from the Philippine Archipelago, Manila, Bureau of printing, 1910. url p. 74, p. 75.
• Checklist of CITES Species CITES, WCMC url p. 270.
• Checklist of CITES Species: a reference to the appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITES url p. 269, p. 278.
• Ecologically sensitive sites in Africa / Washington, DC, USA: World Bank, 1993. url p. 53.
• Flora Vitiensis nova: a new Flora of Fiji (spermatophytes only) / Albert C. Smith. Lawaii, Hawaii: Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden, 1979- url p. 91.
• Novon a journal of botanical nomenclature from the Missouri Botanical Garden. 12 2002 St. Louis, MO: Missouri Botanical Garden, url p. 239.
• The botanic gardens list of rare and threatened species IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 10.
• Fu Shu-hsia, Cheng Wan-chün, Fu Li-kuo & Chen Chia-jui. 1978. Cycadaceae. In: Cheng Wan-chün & Fu Li-kuo, eds., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 7: 4-17.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 31, 2012.
• Golding, J. & Hurter, J. 2010. Cycas thouarsii. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 31January2012.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal January 30, 2008:

• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
• Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility, Magnoliophyta

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3330061
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: IOP-454986
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:297045-1
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 297044-1
• IUCN ID: 203776
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 432455

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. Golding, J. & Hurter, J. 2010. Cycas thouarsii. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 31 January 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.