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Cycas panzhihuaensis
L.Zhou & S.Y.Yang
(no common name)
Cycadaceae
Cycas panzhihuaensis is a species of tree-sized cycad in the family Cycadaceae. It is endemic to the Jinsha River valley in southern China. It is rare and threatened, but is cold-hardy and easy to grow.
Description
Cycas panzhihuaensis is a tree, up to around 2 m tall, occasionally taller. Leaves are huge, 0.7 to 1.3 m long and 18 to 25 cm wide, pinnate, on a 7 to 20 cm long, spiny leafstalk that is roughly rhombic in cross section. Each leaf has 70 to 150 pairs of slightly curved, leathery, stiff leaflets that are 12 to 20 cm long, 6 to 7 mm wide, sharply pointed. Leaves are hairy brown at the base and also when young; leaflets are bent upwards. The bark is dark brown to gray, scaly. Male (pollen) cones are large, yellow, 25 to 45 cm tall and 8 to 12 cm wide, cylindrical and tapered. Seeds are borne on separate trees. They are borne in clusters of 2 to 4, orange-red, round, about 3 cm long and about 2.2 to 3 cm wide, with a few hairs. They are surrounded by leaf-like structures called megasporophylls that are 15 to 20 cm long, 4 to 7 cm wide, rhombic to a bit ovate, pointed at the tip, covered in brown hairs and deeply divided with many narrow lobes. Pollination occurs from April to May, and the seeds become mature in early fall (Wu et al. 1999).
Uses
Note: Please see the disclaimer regarding any information about medical or edible uses.
Plants of this species are collected for various purposes like decoration and horticulture. The species is easy to grow and has some frost tolerance. However, the species is rare and threatened (Whitelock 2003).
Distribution
In the wild, Cycas panzhihuaensis is found only in the Jinsha River valley in southwestern Sichuan Province and northern Yunnan Province in China. At an elevation of 1100 to 2000 m, it grows in grassy areas with sparse trees, in limestone and sand shale (Wu et al. 1999).
Status
Cycas panzhihuaensis is listed on the IUCN Red List as "Vulnerable", a change from “Near Threatened” in 2003. Habitat destruction is a concern: mining and quarrying occurs near the area. Plants are cut down for wood, and collected for medicine or for horticulture. It is listed in Appendix II of CITES, an international treaty regulating the trade of end (Hill 2010).
References
Hill, K. D. 2010. Cycas panzhihuaensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T42078A10621423.en.
Whitelock, L. M. 2003. The Cycads. Portland: Timber Press.
Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H., and Hong, D. Y., eds. 1999. Flora of China. Vol. 4 (Cycadaceae through Fagaceae). Beijing: Science Press, and St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press.
Whitelock, L. M. 2003. The Cycads. Portland: Timber Press.
Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H., and Hong, D. Y., eds. 1999. Flora of China. Vol. 4 (Cycadaceae through Fagaceae). Beijing: Science Press, and St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press.
Description
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