Cycads at Missouri Botanical Garden's Climatron^® Conservatory

Cycads look similar to palms, but are not related. Compared to most plants, cycads are tough! Many cycads have sharp spines on their leathery leaves for protection.

Their relatives can be traced back nearly 300 million years, which makes them some of the oldest plants known. Cycads lived both during and after the time when the dinosaurs ruled the earth.

When cycads reproduce, both male and female plants produce large cones at the top of their stems. These cones produce pollen in the males and eggs in the female cycads.

Small beetles carry the pollen from the male cone to the female cone in many species.

Cycads are very slow growing and unfortunately many of these amazing plants are threatened with extinction.