#zamiaceae

[ruthbancroftgarden]

Dioon edule

Dioon is a genus of cycads found in Mexico and Central America. Although cycads bear some resemblance to ferns or small palms, they are related to neither and are actually a type of conifer. Plants are either male or female, though the sex cannot be determined until they are old enough to make a cone. Our plant pictured here has turned out to be a male. D. edule occurs in the Sierra Madre Oriental of eastern Mexico, from Nuevo Leon southward to Veracruz.

-Brian

[syngoniums]

Zamia vasquezii, female cone.

[floridensis]

i have SO MANY CHILDREN right now!!

atala butterfly caterpillars on coontie cycad

[upmala]

new life from old leaves.

[krixbeeble]

Sago palm beauties I found on a walk, and a vibrant passion flower from the garden ✨️ #plantlife #sagopalm #passionflower #cycasrevoluta #zamiaceae #earthgifts https://www.instagram.com/p/Co5MQFPPrMV/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[agencysoup]

This is actually connected to one of my favorite plant facts

most angiosperms and gymnosperms (flowering and cone plants) have actually lost their ability to move their sperm around. There are some notable exceptions to this rule though. They are the ginkgo tree (a famously ancient species) and two families in the cycads (cycadaceae and zamiaceae). These are the only extant gymnosperms with flagellated and mobile sperm. They also have an interesting property that none of the rest of these mobile sperm have.

Fig 11 is a drawing of a Ginkgo Biloba sperm (the flagella bands here are very small and are indicated by the arrows), Fig 10 is a drawing of a Zamia Pumila sperm from the family zamiaceae.

One interesting thing about these sperm is their shape, they seem to be much more normal looking than the other flagellated sperm pictured above (especially the ferns). I'm not sure about this (because I don't have any sources on it) but my guess is that this is one of the mutations towards non-flagellated sperm because they no longer need to swim.

The other interesting thing (which is especially surprising because of the size of the Ginkgo sperm's flagella bands) is the number of flagella. The bryophytes (mosses, hornworts, and liverworts) have only two. Some other species outside the bryphytes have 40 or upwards of 100. Ferns and Ginkgos have 1000 flagella per sperm. Cycads on the other hand can have upwards of 40,000 with Zamia having 50,000 flagella per sperm. Which is a crazy investment for gymnosperms that as far as I can tell don't even need their flagella in order to reproduce. They're just showing off.

for real though imagine being one of the first botanists to study fern and lycophyte sex and you put the sex water (the water in which they are having sex bc they love it soooooo much) under the microscope and theyre cranking out these damn Doohickies that swim like people sperm.... what is going On down there

[cholodendron]

Zamia neurophyllidia D.W. Stev.

Zamiaceae

[i-am-heathcliff-234]

My private little jungle

[indefenseofplants]

I convinced my first cycad seed to germinate! Zamia integrifolia aka the coontie. #cycad #germination #coontie #zamia #plant #plantnerd #botany #botanical #botanizing #plantoftheday #seed #seedling #ecology #recruitment #leaf #nativeplants #northamerica #cycads #zamiaceae #cycadales #nature #naturelover #growplants #greenhouse #houseplant #sunroom #plantsofinstagram

[princess-peregrine]

Hi! Saw your post on Storm Hawks fic requests and was wondering if you could do one with Cyclonis messing with Snipe?

I was kinda excited for this ask before I realized that I had, once again, no clue what to write for this. also please be aware that it’s shorter than the others and might have worse writing solely because I started it after midnight and I am half asleep right now. 

900+ words, Snipe gets called to Cyclonis’ chamber, he’s not quite in trouble but just a little bit

Snipe growled at the guards next to him. He knew they were mocking him. Fear was evident on his face, how could it not be. Cyclonis doesn't just call people to her throne room for nothing. Did he do something wrong? What could it be? Snipe racked his head trying to think if he did something wrong recently and couldn't think of a thing. Maybe it was a reward? For not ruining anything lately? No that couldn't be it, he knew he wasn't as smart as the others but he wasn't dumb enough to think Cyclonis would reward him for doing nothing. With one last gulp he pushed open the doors and slowly made his way inside. Cyclonis was where she always was, tinkering with her important machine.

“Master Cyclonis.” Snipe said, his throat dry. “You called for me, Master?”

Cyclonis paused and turned around, her hood slowly opening as she turned to reveal her face clearly, unamused. “I did. Do you know why, Snipe?”

“Uh,” Snipe rubbed his wrist, hesitant to answer. “Am I in trouble for something?”

“Not yet, Snipe.” Cyclonis said turning back around. “As you know I am in charge of everything around here. Including Crystal orders.” Snipe listened quietly, slowly gaining an idea as to why he was called. “Every Crystal that comes in and out of here and is produced here gets recorded. And every now and then I check to make sure that the workers in charge are doing their job right. NOW,” Cyclonis hissed, craning her head back to look at Snipe. “I'll ask again, do you know why I called you?”

Snipe winced under the pressure Cyclonis was exuding, the air growing heavier with her obvious irritation. Regardless he took a deep breath and did his best to stand straight. “Because I, ordered, Crystals wrong?”

At this answer Cyclonis relaxed her shoulders and let out an exhausted sigh. Getting upset at Snipe was too much effort, it would be like yelling at a wall. Only this time the wall would cry or beg, hearing that would only put strain on her. “You're an embarrassment.” Cyclonis said, grabbing a scroll out from her cloak as she walked towards Snipe. “You're orders are pre-made for you by me, right down to the last pebble for whatever job I assign you to. Do you know why?”

“Because, my handwritings bad?” Snipe said, slightly confused from not being yelled at or hurt like usual.

“That certainly is a part of it. Actually yes let's go with that.” Cyclonis unfurled the scroll and held it up for Snipe. “I was wondering why, next to the sixty blast nodes, was a request for a, and this is me reading what you wrote, a Soldars Crystal.” Cyclonis turned the paper back to her. “Yes, yes I'm reading that right. It even has a little drawing of a sun next to it. I assumed what you were trying to refer to, was this?” Cyclonis said, a bright yellow Crystal coming seemingly from nowhere appearing in her hand. “Am I right?”

Snipe gulped, and nodded quickly. “Yes Master Cyclonis.”

“This, Snipe,” Cyclonis shook the Crystal close to Snipes face. “is a Solaris Crystal. It has no offensive purpose other than blinding those around you. Do you still want it?” Cyclonis watched as Snipe once again braced himself, and to her surprise, gave a slight nod. Slow at first, hesitant she wouldn't give it to him, and soon nodding properly. Cyclonis lowered her arms, perplexed. “Alright Snipe, you can have it.” Tossing the Crystal to him, bouncing off his hands and causing him to do an exaggerated, frantic reaches to catch it. He finally caught it and brought it close to his face, a smile growing. “I wont ask what you plan to do with it, but know this.” Cyclonis hissed. “Solaris Crystals are rare, I expect it to be put towards good use. Should I find that it is wasted on your next mission, there will be consequences.”

“Oh you don't have to worry about me Master Cyclonis!” Snipe said much more full of energy than he was before. Confidence leaking into his words. “I'll make sure this Crystal doesn't go to waste.”

“I'm sure.” Cyclonis said as Snipe left the room. Once his footsteps were no longer heard she snapped her fingers, summoning a Night Crawler from the shadows, crawling down the wall. “You've been watching him, what has he been up to?” The Night Crawler creeped over and bowed before daring to speak.

“During his spare time he does nothing but train outside his quarters. And yell at one of his soldiers to retrieve a book from the library.” The Night Crawler hissed out.

“The library?” Cyclonis paused her work on her machine. “I doubt that brute has taken an interest in reading, and he doesn't seem to be any smarter. It is good to know that he can read however.” Cyclonis looked over to the bowing Night Crawler. “What was the book? Do you know?”

“Two books Master.” The Night Crawler hissed. “An encyclopedia on plants, and a children's first garden book. He has highlighted one of the plants, The Dioon Edule Zamiaceae.”

“I suppose this isn't an issue.” Cyclonis rubbed her temples. “Of all the things to take interest in. Alright, sneak a dictionary into his room and put it where he'll see it.” Cyclonis took out a pencil and paper and started writing. “And make sure this is on top of it.” Cyclonis then handed the Night Crawler a note that read, THIS IS REQUIRED READING, MASTERS ORDERS.

[ruthbancroftgarden]

Dioon edule

This Mexican cycad comes from the Caribbean side of Mexico. Though often mistaken for ferns or palms, cycads are actually conifers - note the cone at the center of the plant. We are pleased that despite its tropical origins, Dioon edule grows happily here at the Ruth Bancroft Garden.

-Brian

[syngoniums]

I have been dealing with stress by planting seeds. Palms and cycads developed new fascination for me after the winter storm, when so many of them experienced complete defoliation and apparent death, only for many of them to rebound months later.

The first of the palms to sprout is Nannorrhops ritchiana. Nannorrhops is a monotypic genus naturally found in southwestern Asia (Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia). It's one of the more cold hardy palms (to USDA zone 7a), but the aridity of its native range means that it can struggle in humid climates like Florida, where palms normally thrive. Here in central Texas, we can go both ways, so it will be interesting to see how these fare. These specific seeds came from a seller in Arizona who states he has three plants, only one of which has ever flowered. You can see at least 2 albinos are in this batch, but germination has been great overall.

Meanwhile, my Dioon edule and spinulosum seeds are germinating well. I have some Zamia hybrids that are putting out radicles, as well as one Cycas calcicola. There are also starfruit and Araucaria araucana seedlings! Meanwhile, the birdsnest anthurium berries from last fall's pollination are almost ripe; evidently fertilizer will speed that up too. No idea what I'll do with all these just yet, but it's exciting!

[jakekwinston]

Cycad Encephalartos Ferox

[veliavivai]

Cycas Dioon

Cycas Dioon - Velia Vivai

Dioon Spinulosum Cicade della Famiglia delle Zamiaceae Originaria del Messico Orientale. Caratteristiche: tronco ad alto fusto, privo di ramificazioni; foglie lunghe e spiniformi. Disponibile presso il Vivaio di Agropoli http://www.veliavivai.it/

https://www.cactuscilento.com/

[wiradoesart]

Zamiaceae

[griffonnez]

Botanische Garten Brotpalmfarn, sind eine Pflanzengattung in der Familie der Zamiaceae. Jardin botanique, Encephalartos, du grec cephale, tête, et artos, pain. Botanical garden, Encephalartos, commonly referred to as bread trees. 2020