The mysterious sex lives of cycads

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Unlike most plants here on planet earth, cycads are dioecious. That is, they are either male or female, like animals and people. There are actually quite a few plants that are like this - here's a list from Wikipedia. This dioon edule cycad here in my garden is a male. I know it's a male from the shape of the cone. This is the third time it's coned since I planted it here in the 90s, and, well, it just makes me a little sad.

The truth is that he would need a female plant nearby to cone at the same time as him to be able to help produce fertile seeds. So, he goes through this cycle every couple of years, and then the cone falls apart, useless. He is surrounded by many other cycads of the same species here in The Tropical Paradise, but they are far too young to cone, and I really don't know if they are females or males. He will have to be patient. Cycads live for hundreds of years, so hopefully someday, he will help life to find a way!

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