Cycas pectinata

Description

“Pet poisonous” – Toxic parts: entire plant esp seeds Cycas pectinata (common names: Assam cycas; nagphal in Assamese, yendang in Manipuri) was the fourth species of Cycas to be reported and named; it was described in 1826 by the Scottish surgeon and botanist Francis Buchanan-Hamilton from Kamrup, Assam in northeast India. The species is one of the most widespread cycads. It is found in the northeastern part of India (Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Darjeeling), Nepal, Bhutan, northern Burma, southern China (Yunnan), Bangladesh, Burma, Malaysia, Cambodia, northern Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. Cycas pectinata usually grow at an elevation of 300 m to 1200 m and in difficult terrains. In China, it grows in dry, open thickets on limestone mountains, and red soil in sparse monsoon forests. Cycas pectinata grows up to 40 feet (12 m) tall and has very large, ovoid male cones. The tallest Cycas pectinata is a female plant in North Kamrup, Assam which measures 52.8 feet (16.1 m). The tree is the world's tallest Cycas plant. In Northeast India, the species is under severe threat due to de-forestation and to over collection of male cones for preparation of traditional medicines. The species is listed in CITES Appendix II and IUCN Redlist.