Lepidozamia

Lepidozamia is a genus of two species of cycad, both endemic to Australia.[1] They are native to rainforest climates in eastern Queensland and eastern New South Wales. They have a chromosome number of 2n = 18.

Lepidozamia
Lepidozamia peroffskyana
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Cycadophyta
Class: Cycadopsida
Order: Cycadales
Family: Zamiaceae
Subfamily: Encephalartoideae
Tribe: Encephalarteae
Subtribe: Macrozamiinae
Genus: Lepidozamia
Regel[1]
Synonyms

Catakidozamia W.Hill

Etymology

The name is derived from the Greek word lepis (λεπίς) meaning scale[2], which refers to the scale-like structure of the stem and leaf bases.

Species

ImageScientific nameDistributionLeafCone
Lepidozamia hopei (W.Hill) Regelnorthern Queensland
Lepidozamia peroffskyana Regelsoutheastern Queensland, northeastern New South Wales

A specimen of L. hopei is known as the tallest living cycad at 17.5 m tall. These cycads are generally unbranched, tall, and with persistent leaf bases. They are easily cultivated as ornamental plants and are relatively cold hardy; L. peroffskyana was first described by a specimen grown at St. Petersburg's botanical garden in 1857.

L. hopei in understorey of the Daintree Rainforest, north-east Queensland
L. hopei: female plant with disintegrating cone containing seeds
L. hopei: tall plant in the Daintree Rainforest, north-east Queensland

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.