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Species profile—Cycas semota

Classification

Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → CycadaceaeCycas semota

Photo of Cycas semota () - Queensland Herbarium, DES (Licence: CC BY NC)
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Species details

Kingdom
Plantae (plants)
Class
Equisetopsida (land plants)
Family
Cycadaceae
Scientific name
Cycas semota K.D.Hill
WildNet taxon ID
5936
Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
Endangered
Conservation significant
Yes
Confidential
Yes
Endemicity
Native
Pest status
Nil
Short Notes
Gymnosperm
Description
Cycas semota is a cycad growing to 5m tall and tree-like in general appearance with a trunk up to 24 cm in diameter. The leaves are bright green, semi-glossy, 1.1-1.6m long and keeled (V-shaped) in cross-section, with140-250 leaflets. Young leaves have loose orange or brown hairs shedding as the leaf expands. The petiole (leaf stalk) is 30-40cm long and hairless. The leaflets are 14-20cm long, 6.5-7.5mm wide and spaced about 8-11mm apart along the rhachis (central stalk).
The reproductive structures grow from the centre of the plant crown. The ovoid (egg-shaped) male cones are brown, 40-46cm long and 12-14cm in diameter. The female sporophylls (seed bearing structures) are 10-20cm long with a broadly triangular apical lobe 5-6.5 cm long and 3.8-5 cm wide, with an apical spine 19-30 mm long. The seeds are a flattened, ovoid (egg-shape), 3.2-3.7 cm long and 2.8-3.2 mm wide, green to orange and not powdery.
Distinguished from the other species by the short female sporophylls (seed bearing structures) and short soft cataphylls (reduced scale-like leaves) with short soft hair. C. tuckeri from farther south has even shorter female sporophylls, with a distinctly shorter and broader lamina. (Hill 1998, 2004)
Map
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Habitat
Cycas semota grows in the grassy understorey of moist eucalypt forest and mesophyllous forest. It occurs on shallow, sandy soils over laterite. (Hill 2004)
Reproduction
Male cones shed pollen and female sporophylls are receptive in November - December. Pollination is effected by small beetles in an obligate mutualism.
Notes
Contributors: Ailsa Holland, Paul Forster, Mellisa Mayhew 17/06/2009
References
Herbrecs (2008). Cycas semota, in BriMapper version 2.12. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 29/09/2008.
Hill, K. (1996). A taxonomic revision of the genus Cycas (Cycadaceae) in Australia. Telopea 7(1): 1-64.
Hill, K. (2004). Cycas semota, in The Cycad Pages online. Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. Accessed 29/09/2008. http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/PlantNet/cycad/index.html
Hill, K.D. in McCarthy, P.M. (Ed) (1998). Flora of Australia 48: 610.
Jones, D.L. (2002). Cycads of the World, Ancient Plants in Today's Landscape. edn 2. New Holland Publishers, Australia.
Profile author
Ailsa Holland (17/06/2009)

Other resources

Data source

This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species/?op=getspeciesbyid&taxonid=5936.

This information is sourced from the WildNet platform managed by the Queensland Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation.

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Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Last updated
9 December 2024