Cycas platyphylla facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cycas platyphylla |
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Cycas
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| Species: |
platyphylla
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Cycas platyphylla is a special type of plant called a cycad. It's like a living fossil, looking a bit like a palm tree or a fern, but it's actually part of a very old group of plants. This particular cycad grows naturally in Queensland, Australia. It's known for its unique look and how it survives in tough places.
The stems of Cycas platyphylla can stand straight up or lie down. They usually grow less than a metre tall, but some can reach up to 1.5 metres. Its leaves are long, about 60 to 100 centimetres. They are shaped like feathers and have a ridge down the middle. When new leaves first appear, they are a cool blue-grey colour. As they get older, they turn a dark yellow-green and become a bit shiny. The parts that hold the seeds, called megasporophylls, are covered in fuzzy orange hairs. The seeds themselves have a bright, waxy blue coating when they are growing.
Where Cycas Platyphylla Lives
This amazing plant mostly grows in a special kind of forest called Eucalyptus savanna. This is a dry, open woodland where eucalyptus trees are spread out. You can find Cycas platyphylla west of the Atherton Tableland in north-east Queensland.
It often grows on rocky ground where the soil is thin. This soil is usually found over rocks like rhyolite or basalt. These are types of volcanic rocks. Even though the habitat can be cold and dry, this cycad thrives there. It can even survive bushfires, which is very important in Australia!
Gallery
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Wild plant in open savanna in north Queensland
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With fire-blackened, branched caudex
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Megasporophylls on a wild plant
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Colony on an outcrop of rhyolite in open dry-tropical savanna in northern Queensland
