Cycads

=**__Cycads__** =

Cyc ﻿ ads are seed plants that have a large crown of compound leaves and a stout trunk. Cycads are considered living fossils. They are [|evergreen], [|dioecious] plants.There are about 250 species of Cycads. Cycads are types of Gymnosperms and members of the phylum Cycadophyta.




 * Appearance:**

Cycads are palm like plants that reproduce with large cones. They resemble ferns and palms. Cycads are related to pine trees.

Cycads can be found in tropical and subtropical places such as Mexico, the West Indies, Florida, and parts of Asia, Africa and Australia. -Caudex: trunk that can be 50 feet in the air or below the ground -Frond: the leaves -Basal sucker: a cane which grows from a bud at the base of a tree or shrub or from its roots -Coralloid roots: they absorbs nutrients -Primary roots: also called the tap root, the underground, vertical organ of the plant -Secondary roots: extend from the primary roots.
 * Location:**
 * Structure of Cycads: **

Cycads can reproduce sexually or asexually. An individual Cycad has either a male or a female reproductive system. The male and female parts of the plants are found in the cones.
 * Reproduction: **

-First the pollen from the male cone lands on the //gynostrobilus//, or female cone. (transferred through the wind or insects) -The pollen forms a tube within the ovule, which will eventually become a seed. (matures there for several weeks) -Then the sperm within the pollen tube acquires flagella, and when the sperm tube breaks, the sperm swims to the egg within the ovule and fertilizes it. -Lastly, the ovule becomes a seed.