Cycad

Despite the very palmy-appearance, this isn’t actually a palm. It’s a cycad. Cycad have a woody trunk like a palm, but their leaves tend to be harder. The cycad family has a very, very long history. Versions of the cycad were around when dinosaurs walked the Earth over 250 million years ago. This plant has seen some things.

It grows in tropical areas all over the world, including Central America, the east side of Africa and parts of Australia. As an indoor plant, it’s very slow growing and relatively easy to look after. It likes its soil quite dry and the air humid. You can boost its growing a bit by giving it a feed once in spring and again in summer.

It doesn’t like to be fussed about too much, so it’s good for areas where it won’t be brushed against a lot. It’s been around millions of years; it needs a bit of time to itself.

Did you know?

Cycads are highly prized in Vanuatu and crossed cycad leaves appear on the national flag.