The New York Botanical Garden
Living fossils of the plant world, the cycads can trace their lineage
back to about 300 million years ago. In a world without flowers, forests of
these palm-like plants were the main feature of the dinosaurs' landscape. Today
the cycads (
http://www.nybg.org/events/prel_landsc.html)are mere vestiges of
their glorious past: an
estimated 19 genera are known only as fossils and of the 11 living genera, most
are on the verge of extinction because of loss of habitat, slow growth, and
infrequent reproduction. In a joint project with Fairchild Tropical Garden, Dr.
Dennis Wm. Stevenson, Director of the Harding & Lieberman Laboratories at The
New York Botanical Garden and the world's leading expert on cycads, is studying
their pollination biology. His work confirmed that cycads are pollinated by
specific species of weevils (
http://www.nybg.org/events/prel_weevil.html)and
beetles and unravelled the symbiosis -- mutually beneficial relationship of two
dissimilar organisms living together -- between plants and pollinators,
demonstrating that the cycads' survival is contingent upon the preservation of
their ecosystem.
Pollination -- the transfer of the sperm-cell-loaded pollen from the
male structure to the female structure for germination -- involves separate male
and female cycad plants with reproductive structures called cones
produced when both plants reach maturity. The pollen-laden male cone differs in
shape, size, and color from the female cone. Dr. Stevenson's study of Zamia
furfuracea (http://www.nybg.org/events/prel_2.html,) Zamia
pumila, and Dioon califanoi showed that each cycad genus has its own genus of
pollinators and each cycad species has its own species of pollinators. He
uncovered a fascinating tale of plant/anima
'"/>
Contact: Annick Sullivan
asullivan@nybg.org
718-817-8815
New York Botanical Garden
31-Jul-1998
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