UPSC Express

CYCAS

• Cycas are one of the most ancient plants whose fossils date to the Jurassic period and are often referred to as “living fossils”.
• According to scientists, Cycas evolved on the earth as the first seeded plants and they grow very slowly, adding only a few centimetres every year.
• Nearly 65% of Cycas are threatened but what makes the flora unique is that despite being a contemporary of the dinosaur, the genus continues to thrive.
• There are over 100 species of Cycas found across the globe.

Cycas dharmrajii

• Cycas dharmrajii is characterised by the abnormal branching habit of its giant trunk and its swollen base.
• What makes the Cycas dharmrajii distinct from other Cycas found in the country is the well-defined 10 to 28 hook-like structures in the apex of the mega sporophyll (sporophyll are spore-bearing leaf-like female sex organ of the plant).

Cycas pschannae 

• The sporophylls of Cycas pschannae are characterised by the presence of two lateral horn-like structures.