Differences between palms and cycads

[DoomsDave]

Hello, everyone, and, especially, welcome to all of those recently bitten by the palm (and/or cycad) bug.

I've been an addict all my life, since growing up in Ohio in the northern United States, where palms mostly won't grow outdoors.

Palmtalk is where you should be if you're a hopeless palm nut, like me.

One common question and area of confusion is the difference between palms and cycads.

Both look superficially similar to each other, and I don't usually get too snarky with those who confuse them.

There are differences, and those difference can be important. If you have the grave misfortune of getting your garden infested with Ganoderma Palm Butt Rot, you won't be able to raise palms, but you can still grow cycads. Palms are harder to move than cycads, especially when large. Cycads, as a group, are much much slower growing than palms are. As a group, cycads take dry conditions better than most palms do, and will also tolerate bad soil much better.

Cycads are a much more "primitive" group of plants, related to pines, redwoods, etc. Cycads' reproductive structure is a cone, much like a pine tree.

Cycads are all diocecious, meaning males and females in different individuals. In other words, you need a boy and a girl, both, to have seeds.

Palms are a relatively recent arrival on the earth's biological scene, and are monocots, related to grasses.

Palms produce a wide array of fruiting types, ranging from tiny berries on Chamadoreas to enormous "double coconuts" on Lodiciea that weigh up to 40 pounds each.

Palms grow relatively fast, as a group, compared to cycads.

Weed killers that kill grasses will also hurt or kill palms, but (usually) not harm cycads.

Palms and cycads each have their own set of diseases and pests. In general, bugs that like cycads don't bother palms, and vice versa.

This is a short overview, and, if anyone has further thoughts and advice, do chime in.

Again, welcome to our family!

[Rafael]

Exausting description Dave!

Thanks!

Anyway, I do prefer palms!