Cycad Collection 2016

[KyushuCalanthe]

Summer is full on here in southern Japan and the cycad collection is responding with new flushes. Here's what's going on out there with some of them.

Lepidozamia peroffskyana (right foreground), Encephalartos ferox (center), Dioon spinulosum (left back), and Zamia dressleri (pink flushed plant) - all of these plants have flushed new leaves this season except E. ferox. When growing cycads you get used to plants skipping a season for new frond growth.

Zamia dressleri - his species has been really hard to keep here in southern Japan, mostly because of the colder winter conditions, even in the relative warmth of a grow room which occasionally goes down to 5 C - not to its liking. It is said this species also needs a particular myccorrhizal fungus to remain healthy longterm. I can only guess this plant was inoculated with the fungus when I got it five years ago.

Zamia pseudoparasitica - probably my best growing Zamia species, tolerating fairly cold temperatures without a problem. In the wild they can be found at high elevation (up to 1000m), so that may be why they can handle cold better than most Zamia. This specimen is finally becoming a near adult.

Encephalartos trispinosus - I got this plant a couple seasons ago, hoping it would be another "cold hardy" cycad for southern Japan. No way, this plant likes heat, like all cycads, and cannot take the combination of cold temperatures and wet conditions without risking fatal rot. I love its blue foliage, but one day had the disquieting realization that it looks terribly similar to an artichoke plant!

If you want to see more then check out the full article here:

Cycads in my home garden

 

[Happypaphy7]

That second one looks like made of copper! lol
The last one is also nicely "blue".

I find that they can be magnets for soft brown scales and spider mites ( less so than scales).
How do they fare in the garden? I mean they certainly look nice and healthy.

 

[SlipperFan]

I love Cycads! You have a wonderful collection, Tom.

 

[abax]

Very nice collection. Are they all native to Japan? I know
there was a big brouhaha over the import of some Cycads
some years ago and the importer went to prison. I've
forgotten his name, but it was a big deal in the plant
world for quite some time.

 

[NYEric]

Nice, thanks for sharing.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

I find that they can be magnets for soft brown scales and spider mites ( less so than scales).
How do they fare in the garden? I mean they certainly look nice and healthy.

Oh yes, it is a constant battle to keep brown scale off the collection. All you see here have been attacked at one time or the other. I find that Zamia species are the most prone, then Cycas, and to lesser extent, Encephalartos. Only Ceratozamia and Dioon seem impervious and I have no idea why. All my plants are in pots, and most come in for the winter months.

Very nice collection. Are they all native to Japan? I know
there was a big brouhaha over the import of some Cycads
some years ago and the importer went to prison. I've
forgotten his name, but it was a big deal in the plant
world for quite some time.

Actually there is only one native cycad in Japan, Cycas revoluta, the famous "sago palm". All the others are from around the world - Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas.

Two prominent cycad genera that are commercially exploitable are Ceratozamia (Central America) and Encephalartos (southern Africa). Both are listed as CITES Appendix I, so if you try to trade in them across international borders illegally, you are playing with fire. All other genera are Appendix II.

It must be noted that cycad populations around the world are under serious threat with actual extinction. Many species have populations that are in just the dozens of plants, and no species is truly weedy or widespread. Most are confined to very restricted distributions and habitats - notably the above mentioned genera. They need and deserve protection.

 

[abax]

I agree entirely, however, an example was made of this
man for show and the sentence was very harsh. Perhaps
it was necessary to protect the species. It seems scientific
data is lacking on plant populations.

 

[Marco]

I love the second one!

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

I agree entirely, however, an example was made of this
man for show and the sentence was very harsh. Perhaps
it was necessary to protect the species. It seems scientific
data is lacking on plant populations.

That's happened more than once with cycads Angela, in particular with the genus Encephalartos. I heard of a case in California back in the 90's where a government mole joined a local cycad society for the expressed purpose of making an arrest. I guess such cases are difficult to look at since so many get away with illegal activity and few take the real rap.

A good example of how endangered these plants are in the wild is E. middleburgensis. The total adult population was estimated at 120, and it is highly fragmented. The species has seen a 80% or greater reduction in population in the past 50 years. For more see the IUCN Red List page on this species.

E. middleburgensis Report