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Common name: Cycad Family.
Number of genera 1. Number of species 20.
Gymnosperm.
Disseminule a cone, or a seed.
Cones
Cone dry; when dry a strobilus (Spjut Fig. 51A-B & only family); globose; symmetrical; with sporophylls; with frondlike sporophylls.
Seeds
Aril absent. Seed larger than minute; 25 to less than 50 mm long to 50+ mm long; 30–60 mm long; elliptic, or circular; in transection terete; not bowl shaped; not nutlike; without winglike beak; without caudate appendage(s); at maturity with food reserves; with endosperm; without canavanine. Sarcotesta absent. Testa present; with fleshy or leathery layer over hard layer (& over corky & bouyant layer); tight; dull; surface smooth, or unsmooth; surface with merged raised features; surface wrinkled; without crease or line separating cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle; without notch along margin where cotyledons from hypocotyl-radicle tip approach each other; without glands; without bristles; glabrous; without wings; without collar; without operculum; colored; monochrome; red (dish-brown), or brown (all shades), or yellow, or cream; not becoming mucilaginous when wetted. Endosperm copious, or moderate; opaque; smooth; without fatty acid containing cyclopropene; without apical lobes; without chlorophyll; without isodiametric faceted surface; without odor.
Embryo differentiated from food reserve; well developed; 1 per seed; partially filling testa (with food reserve); 0.7 times the length of food reserve; at one end of seed not extending into a depression or cup; axile and centric; foliate; with more or less spatulate cotyledons; straight; parallel to seed length; with cotyledons gradually connected to hypocotyl-radicle; without coleorhiza; without simmondsin; without stomata; not green; with 2 or more cotyledons. Cotyledons 2; well developed; 0.3–0.9 times length of embryo; somewhat to significantly wider than hypocotyl-radicle; 1 times wider than hypocotyl-radicle (or a little more); smooth; with apices entire; with margins adhering (usually at tips), or separate; basally entire; unequal in size; not punctate dotted. Hypocotyl-radicle well developed, or moderately developed; straight; not thickened.
Distribution
Old World. Africa (Madagascar), southeastern Asia (to Indomalaysia).
Notes
LeMaout & Decaisne: "presenting several openings corresponding to the embryonic vesicles, from which descend folded cords terminated by embryos of which one only is developed". Seed multiembryonic and one only matures.
Weed information
No USA noxious weeds.
Listed seeds
No ASOA or ISTA listed seeds.
Accepted genera
Cycas L.
References specific to this family
Cronquist page 0 (not present). Miquel, F.A.W. 1845. Observationes de ovulo et embryonibus Cycadearum. Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot. sér. 3, 3:193–206, tab. 8 & 9.
General references
Engler, A. and K. Prantl. 1924 and onward. Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilimien. W. Engelman, Leipzig, Gunn, C.R. and J.V. Dennis. 1976. World guide to tropical drift seeds and fruits, 240 pp. The New York Times Book Co., New York, Gunn, C.R., J.H. Wiersema, C.A. Ritchie, and J.H. Kirkbride, Jr. 1992 and amendments. Families and genera of Spermatophytes recognized by the Agricultural Research Service. Techn. Bull. U.S.D.A. 1796:1–500, LeMaout, E. and J. Decaisne. 1876. A general system of botany, 1,065 p. Longmans, Green, and Co., London, Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The plant-book, 706 p. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Spjut, R.W. 1994. A systematic treatment of fruit types. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 70:1–182, Johnson, L.A.S. and K.L. Wilson. 1990. Cycadophytina/Cycadatae with the single living order Cycadales (Cycads). In: Kubitzki, K., ed., The families and genera of vascular plants, pp. 362–377. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Illustrations
Poor Strobilus and seed illustrations. Disseminule illustration(s): "cone", or seed, or embryo. Illustrated "cone": strobilus. "Cone" illustration(s): Spjut. Seed illustration(s): Karen, Gunn & Dennis, Engler & Prantl, LeMaout & Decaisne. Embryo illustration(s): Karen, Engler & Prantl, LeMaout & Decaisne. Karen's plate number and taxon (taxa): 400: Cycas media R. Br.(A-B).
• Seed. 1 of 4. Cycas media R. Br.: seed. • Seed. 2 of 4. Cycas media R. Br.: seed, with seed coat removed. • Embryo. 3 of 4. Cycas media R. Br.: seed. • Embryo. 4 of 4. Cycas circinalis L.: embryo.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘J.H. Kirkbride, Jr., C.R. Gunn, and M.J. Dallwitz. 2000 onwards. Family guide for fruits and seeds: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 12th April 2021. delta-intkey.com’.
