Cycads
Encephalartos tegulaneus over the hillside of Ol Olokwe table mountain, central Kenya
Cycads - the order Cycadales - dominated the Earth among plants in the second half of the Mesozoic era among 250 million and 60 million years ago. In contrast to dinosaurs, who disappeared abruptly towards the end of mesozoic era, the more tenacious cycads, though in a much reduced number of species, have survived to the present day. All cycads are gymnosperm dioecious plants. Cycads are divided into 4 families and at present they can be found in the wild mostly in tropical regions in Africa, the Comores, Madagascar and Mauritius, India, South East Asi and Australia, South, Central and North America and West Indies.
The plants are protected by difficult access to population.
Detail
It was recognised as a new species based on collection, photos and paintings by Joy Adamson, of "Born free" fame.
E. tegulaneus female cones
Male cones
One year old seedling
A young plant, protected by its growth position among the boulders
E. transvenosus, sacred Mudjadli Forest, Limpopo, South Africa
Rock Python, the biggest snake of Africa, among E. transvenosus plants
E. transvenosus female cones
Encephalartos altensteinii, near to Port Alfred, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Encephalartos princeps on the Kei River banks, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Stangeria eriopus, Umtamvuna Nature Reserve, Kwazulu - Natal, South Africa.
Stangeria eriopus, Natal grass cycad, the only member of the Stangeriaceae family. The plant was originally described as a fern. However in 1951, a plant sent to Kew Gardens by dr. Stanger produced cones and revealed its true cycad character. It differs from other cycads by its peculiar appearance and biochemical composition, for example the absence of bioflavonoids in leaves.
Encephalartos ghellinckii, Drakensberg, Natal, South Africa. One of few cycad species surviving regular snow cover and frosts.
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Canarina eminii, Eastern Africa
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The flower
Cycas thouarsii with 240 cm stem diameter, Mauritius.
The distributin of this species outside Madagascar is caused by its floating seeds or by Arab trading in the past.
Lepidozamia peroffskyana, New South Walles, Australia
Cycas media with partly burnt stem caused by regular grass-fires in Queensland, Australia
Cycas media, procumbent charred stem regenerating by new crowns
Cycas media, mature seeds
Bowenia spectabilis, Queensland, Australia
Lepidozamia hopei, the world´s biggest cycad, Queensland, Australia
Leaf detail
Coralloid roots
Halong Bay, Viet Nam
Cycad species, Halong Bay, Vietnam
Detail
Cycas bifida, Guanxi, China
Double - divided C. bifida leaflets
C. bifida, young leaf
Male cone, C. bifida
Inmature female cone, C. bifida
Detail
C. bifida mature seeds
Cycas debaoensis, Debao, China
Cycas micholitzii on a steep slope, Kon Tum, Vietnam
"Without doubt, Cycas micholitzii is one of the most distinctive and beautiful species of the genus. The nearly subterranean stem usually produces only one to three leaves, but beauty of these leaves is hard to imagine...." Loran M. Whitelock, The Cycads, p. 126.
C. micholitzii, male and inmature female cones
C. micholitzii female cone detail
C. micholitzii mature seeds
Rare C. micholitzii seedlings in culture
Cycas pectinata growing on a carstic wall above the Nam Song river, Vang Vieng, Laos
Cycas pectinata, a leaf.
Srí Lanka
Cycas Zeylanica, v současnosti endemický na ostrově Andaman a Nicobar - stará rostlina v botanické zahradě v Colombu.
Nová žárovka na trunku
Encephalartos hildebrandtii - samčí šišky
Vícenásobně rozdělený kmen antientní rostliny
V podrostu našlo útočiště mnoho malých tvůrců
Ahaetula spec.
Velké Antily - domov slavného Microcycas Calocoma a rodu Zamia
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Načervenalá barva mladých listů některých druhů Zamia v kontrastu s intenzivní zelenou barvou dospělých listů
Zralý ženský kužel, Zamia spec. Barracoa
Samčí šišky, Zamia angustifolia
Zralé mužské šišky Zamia angustifolia, detai
Z. angustifolia ženský kužel se dozrávajícími semeny
Malé Antily - bohatství endemické flóry včetně druhů Zamia
The second African genus with only one species is Stangeria. The very variable populations of Stangeria eriopus are restricted to South Africa and Mozambique.
The third african genus is Cycas. The representatives of this species occur in coastal regions of East Africa.
There is the only Cycad genera in Asia - genus Cycas. The whole genera developed probably in Indochina and in the south of China.
In many regions the cycad plants are highly prized by the local people and used in medicine and are frequently grown as ornamental plants. This gives some protection to cycads in the wild, where only cycad plants are saved during the forest clearance for getting soil for agriculture. On the other hand, it is possible sometimes to see older plants being offered for sale in the local markets.
In hard to access areas and steep cliffs in Laos, Vietnam and China, some plants with a rare pattern of double - or even three-times divided leaves grow: Cycas bifida, multipinata, micholitzii and debaoensis. Some of these endemic cycads were discovered only recently. Some of them are restricted to only one small locality in the wild and are extremely rare in cycad collections.
