Any member of the phylum Cycadophyta, primitive
palm-like shrubs and trees that grow in tropical and sub-tropical regions.
They have feathery palm- or fern-like leaves (poisonous in most species)
at the top of stout (usually unbranched) stems. In addition to their main
roots, they also have special roots containing cyanobacteria
that carry out nitrogen fixation.
These plants first flourished about 225 million years ago. Most of the 100
or so surviving species are less than 6.1m (20ft) tall.
|Dioon cycads palm and cone fruits