Cycas

Genus Cycas includes several species native to tropical and subtropical zones, mainly in Africa and Asia. Cycas revoluta is native to Japan. Cycas are known as “primitive” plants, with morphological features that have evolved very little since prehistory. This plant's shape resembles that of a small palm. Its pinnate leaves are composed of numerous straight, stiff, shiny, dark green leaflets and have very sharp tips. They can be up to 90 cm long. They are arranged in a rosette around a trunk marked with leaf scars that can grow up to 3 metres tall in the plant's natural habitat. Cycas is very slow growing. A young cycas produces one or two leaves a year, in spring, while an adult plant produces a whole row of leaves each year. They start out erect and then become arching. Although they resemble small palms, cycas belong to the gymnosperm group along with conifers. These are dioecious plants (either male or female) and they rarely produce cones when grown as houseplants.