Australian Cycad Plants

Information on Australian Cycad Plants

Cycad plants are some of the most interesting plants in the world. They are found on many continents, generally in tropical or subtropical areas, but what’s interesting about them is that they have survived from the age of dinosaurs, when they used to dominate the plant kingdom. What is left of them today, is a tiny amount compared to how many they once were. Here is some information about Australian cycads, their flowers (cones), seeds and a few species of cycad found in Australia.

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A Few Species of Cycad Found in Australia
Cycads are often confused with ferns and palm trees, but in fact they are not related to any of them.

Bulumara (Cycas armstrongii) is a palm-like cycad with an elect to spreading crown, dark grey trunk, globular yellowish-grey fruits, and soft, leathery glossy bright leaves. Cycads don’t have flowers, instead they have pollen cones, and they have very specialised pollinators – cyanobacteria living in their roots. Bulumara has ovoid pollen cones and dome-shaped seed cones. It is found in the Top End of Northern Territory, Tiwi island and some isolated spots in the Kimberley region in Western Australia.

Zamia Palm (Cycas media) is another palm-like cycad with erect to spreading crown, dark grey trunk, stiff leathery leaves, ovoid pollen cones, globular seed cones, and yellow to orange globular fruits. It is found along the coast of Queensland between Cape York in north and Rockhampton in south.

Pineapple Palm (Lepidozamia peroffskyana) is a cycad with a widely-spreading crown, light to dark brown trunk, stiff leathery leaves, cylindrical pollen and seed cones and red fruits. It is found in a few pockets along the eastern coast of Australia – around Brisbane area, Byron Bay, and Cairns in far north Queensland.

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NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.

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