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Cycads in South Africa. Cycads / ˈ s aɪ k æ d z / are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male or female. Cycads vary in size from having trunks only a few centimeters ...
Most parts of the Macrozamia miquelii are toxic with the seeds of the cycad having a higher concentration of azoxyglycosides, including cycasin and macrozamin, than other parts of the plant. [20] Other toxins identified within the cycad include β-Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) which acts as a powerful neurotoxin if ingested.
Macrozamia macdonnellii, common name MacDonnell Ranges Cycad, is a species of plant in the family Zamiaceae. [2] It is endemic to the Northern Territory, Australia. [1] [2] Macrozamia macdonnellii is not eaten by the Arrernte people of the Macdonnell Ranges due to the extensive process of toxin leaching that is required.
The seeds when mature measure about 5 cm (2.0 in) long by 4 cm (1.6 in) wide and are sheathed in a bright red sarcotesta. [4] [5] [6] It is reputed to be the tallest known species of cycad and it towers over other understorey vegetation, but rarely reaches the forest canopy. [6] [7]: 4
It is a low trunked cycad usually at a height below 1 metre and can be found in dry sclerophyll woodlands. M. heteromera can be distinguished from the rest of the Macrozamia genus by its mid-green, narrow, usually divided pinnae and divided seedling pinnae. [2] It is a plant that has toxic seeds and leaves, a characteristic common to cycads.
Cycas is a genus of cycad, and the only genus in the family Cycadaceae with all other genera of cycad being divided between the Stangeriaceae and Zamiaceae families. Cycas circinalis, a species endemic to India, was the first cycad species to be described in western literature, and is the type species of the genus.
As with all cycads this species is dioecious. Male plants may carry up to 15 cones, whereas only one or two occur on the females. The seeds, embedded in bright-red flesh are eaten and distributed by the purple-crested lourie (Tauraco porphyreolophus) and by the trumpeter hornbill (Bycanistes bucinator). [3]
The longest leaflets are in the centre of the leaf, and the leaflets nearest the leaf base may be replaced by spines, a fact that distinguishes this cycad from the otherwise similar Encephalartos altensteinii. The Natal cycad is dioecious, having male and female cones on separate plants. The male cones are velvety and about 45 by 11 cm (18 by 4 ...