| Cycas zeylanica | |
|---|---|
 | |
| InLund Botanical Gardens | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnospermae |
| Division: | Cycadophyta |
| Class: | Cycadopsida |
| Order: | Cycadales |
| Family: | Cycadaceae |
| Genus: | Cycas |
| Species: | C. zeylanica |
| Binomial name | |
| Cycas zeylanica (J.Schust.) A.Lindstr. & K.D.Hill | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
Cycas rumphii subsp.zeylanicaJ.Schust. | |
Cycas zeylanica, common name (in Sri Lanka)maha-madu is a plant apparently at presentendemic to theAndaman and Nicobar Islands. It was formerly also present inSri Lanka, but the last remnants of the populations there were destroyed by thetsunami of December 2004.[1][3] A few trees are cited in Hanguranketha town Adikarigama area.
Cycas zeylanica is an unbranched shrub up to 3 m tall. Leaves are up to 200 cm long, green, glossy,pinnately compound with up to 100 leaflets. Pollen-producing cones fusiform (tapering at both ends),microsporophylls (male, pollen-producing) up to 45 mm long.Megasporophylls (female,ovule-producing) up to 30 cm long, each with 2-5 ovules. Seeds flattened to ovoid, orange-brown.[4][5]
