What do you need to know about Cycads
Very old, 300 million years old, older than dinosaurs
Rare, threatened and extinct - internationally protected
Slow life cycle, very vulnerable, sensitive to disturbances
Survive in adverse habitats have food reserves for drought seasons
Male and Female, which is only determined when adult cycad forms cones
Related to conifers
Collector’s item
The first time I was walked into the monumental Palm Greenhouse (built-in 1912) accommodating a large collection of palms, cycads and pot plants at Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam, it was love at first sight. I didn’t know about cycads before. These 300 million old species memorised me. It is no wonder that in this cycad and palm heaven when I met Lacy Tree Philodendron I got inspired to make Motherboard. She is friends with Cycads, belongs to the family Araceae and exhibits epiphytic characteristics.
You would think poaching is a big business only for animals, think twice, as a 10cm cycad is quite a big deal. Even a bigger deal if it is a female plant, as it is worth more than the male. There is illegal harvesting for landscaping purposes and private collections. More about the Plant Crime.
The Hortus contributes to the conservation of cycads by cultivating and propagating the plants and informing the public about the necessity of plant protection. Cycads can be found throughout the Hortus, from the terrace to the greenhouses. The largest and oldest specimens can be found in the monumental Palm Greenhouse, including the more than 300-year-old Eastern Cape Giant Cycad (Encephalartos altensteinii) and the very rare Encephalartos woodii.
In the Hortus
Cycads have always been an important plant group. The oldest specimen was brought to Holland by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) more than 300 years ago and has been in the Hortus since 1850. Cycads are a specialization collection of the Hortus and as such is part of the Dutch National Plant Collection. The Hortus has currently 70 species of cycads and is trying to expand this number. Female cones are pollinated by hand with pollen from male ones to acquire seeds. The seeds are then distributed to other botanical gardens worldwide. In this way, the Hortus contributes to the conservation of this unique group of plants.
Origin
Cycads are a very, old primitive plant group. In fact, the first cycads originate approx. 240 million years ago, before the reign of the dinosaurs. These plants determined the Earth's appearance for a very long time. Their decline began about 100 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period when a new group of plants emerged: the flowering plants. Their flowering plants grew much faster than the cycads and could adapt easier to the changing climate - the cycads were literally overgrown. The hardy cycads could survive mainly in adverse habitats, where there was little competition from other plants.
Biology
Cycads belong to the Gymnosperms. These plants reproduce using seeds but have no flowers. The flowering plants or Angiosperms, in contrast, do have flowers. Examples of Gymnosperms are conifers, Ginkgo, and Welwitschia.
Cycads are dioecious: i.e. there are male and female plants. Only when an adult cycad forms cones are it possible to determine the plant’s sex. The male cones form small round balls of pollen on the lower side of the scales. The female cones have small ovaries between the scales. The scales separate when the ovaries are ready for pollination or when the pollen is ripe. At that time, the cone produces heat and odours that attract among others, weevils. When the insects crawl between the scales, they transport pollen from one plant to another. The scales close after pollination and reopen when the seeds are ripe.
Most cycads have adapted well to dry conditions. they have thick, leathery leaves which limit the amount of evaporation. They also store food reserves in their thick trunks in the form of starch. These reserves are used to survive periods of drought.
Rare and threatened
Approximately 280 cycad species exist today; the rest are extinct. The populations still growing in the wild are found only in adverse habitats. Because of this, they are extremely sensitive to disturbances. Many of the cycad species are rare. In fact, of some species, only a few specimens remain. Today, all cycads are protected worldwide.
Read about the oldest pot plant in the world at the Kew gardens and watch Sir David Attenborough talk about it.
