Zamia Palm
Cycas armstrongii
Cycas armstrongii is a species of cycad in the genus Cycas, endemic to the Northern Territory of Australia. It is found from Darwin to the Mary River, the Finniss River in the west to the Arnhem Highway in the east, and north of Pine Creek. It also occurs on the Tiwi Islands and the Cobourg Peninsula.
The stems reach 3 m (rarely 6 m) tall, with a diameter of 5–11 cm. The leaves are (very unusually for a cycad) deciduous in the dry season (though persistent if grown in moister situations), 55–90 cm long, slightly keeled or flat, pinnate with 100-220 leaflets; the leaflets densely orange-pubescent at first, then glossy bright green above, light green below, 5.5–14 cm long and 4.5–8 mm wide, angled forward at 40 degrees. Mature plants have around 50 leaves in the crown.
From the article Cycas armstrongii on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Range & habitat
This cycad is common in open forest and woodland around the Top End and can be easily confused with Cycas maconochiei. It usually grows on well-drained sandy and lateritic soils. While locally abundant, less than 1% of these living fossils are located within conservation reserves.
Wikipedia: “Habitat”
What it does
Annual grass fires are common in its natural habitats. The species is extremely fire tolerant, and the usually early spring fires initiate a profusion of new leaf growth in the plants, thus the common name, fire fern. It is one of the most abundant cycads in the world, with a population estimate of over ten million. The conservation status is secure.
Wikipedia: “Ecology”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Cycas armstrongii in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 136182.