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Beddome’s Cycas

Cycas beddomei

Beddome’s Cycas
Photo: Forestowlet, CC0

Beddome's Cycas is a slow-growing, stiff-leaved cycad from dry, hot scrubland in southern India, and it is endangered in the wild. It is grown outdoors in warm, dry climates, and it is toxic to pets and people.

Family
Cycadaceae (Cycad family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply but let the soil dry out between waterings; overwatering causes root rot.
Soil
Free-draining sandy or gritty mix with added grit or perlite.
Temperature
18–35 °C; protect below 5 °C
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Toxic: Seeds and other parts contain biflavonoids and related compounds that are harmful if eaten; cycads as a group contain toxins that can cause vomiting, liver damage and worse.. Toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA).
Native range
S. India (Cuddapoh Hills)
Climate
seasonally dry tropical

About

Cycas beddomei is a species of cycad in the genus Cycas, native to India, where it is confined to a small area of Andhra Pradesh state in the Tirumala Hills in scrubland and brush covered hills.

Superficially similar to Cycas revoluta, it has erect, solitary stems. There are 20–30 leaves in the crown, each leaf 90 cm long, stiff, lanceolate, pinnate, with 50–100 pairs of leaflets, these 10–17.5 cm long and 3–4 mm wide, and angled forward at 45 degrees; the leaf petiole bears minute spines.

Safety

The biflavonoids 2",3"-dihydrohinokiflavone, 2,3,2",3"-tetrahydrohinokiflavone, 2,3-dihydroamentoflavone, 2,3,2",3"-tetrahydroamentoflavone, 2,3-dihydro-4"'-0-methyl-amentoflavone, and pinoresinol can be isolated from C. beddomei.

Where it grows

This cycad is found in dry, hot sites in the scrublands of eastern India. Clumps of the plant are common via pups only in males. The plant is fairly fire resistant, except as seeds and seedlings, which are very vulnerable to annual grass fires.

Uses

The male cones of the plant are used in Ayurvedic medicine as a cure for rheumatoid arthritis and muscle pains. This cycad, due to its demand for medicinal purposes, and consequent reduction in living populations, is now an endangered species.

Other Cycas plants

Cycas aculeata · Cycas aenigma · Cycas angulata · Cycas annaikalensis · Cycad · Cycas arenicola · Zamia Palm · Cycas arnhemica · Cycas badensis · Cycad · Cycas basaltica · Cycas bifida

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cycas beddomei by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

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