Cycas angulata is a species of cycad

Cycad

Cycads are seed plants typically characterized by a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves. The individual plants are either all male or all female . Cycads vary in size from having a trunk that is only a few centimeters...

 in the genus Cycas

Cycas

Cycas is the type genus and the only genus currently recognised in the cycad family Cycadaceae. About 95 species are currently accepted. The best-known species is Cycas revoluta, widely cultivated under the name "Sago Palm" or "King Sago Palm" due to its palm-like appearance although it is not a...

, native to Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 in northeast Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

 (lower reaches of the Foelsche, Robinson

Robinson River

The Robinson River is a tributary of the Rapidan River in Madison County, Virginia, in the United States. It flows southeast through White Oak Canyon and Berry Hollow, under Routes 231, 29 and 15...

 and Wearyan Rivers near Borroloola

Borroloola, Northern Territory

Borroloola is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located on the McArthur River, about 50 km upstream from the Gulf of Carpentaria. At the 2006 census, Borroloola had a population of 773, of whom 579 declared themselves indigenous....

) and northwest Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 (Bountiful Islands).

It is the largest Australian Cycas species, with arborescent and frequently branched stems growing to 5 m (rarely 12 m) tall, and 15–25 cm in diameter. Older specimens lose the leaf base scars and gain a more checkerboard appearance. The leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are 1.1-1.7 m long, pinnate with 180-320 leaflets, the leaflets 14–23 cm long and 4.5-6.5 mm wide, grey-green to glaucous; there are to 40 leaves in the crown. The leaf petioles are armed with spines in younger individuals (a few millimetres long) with this trait being lost in older individuals.

The female cones

Strobilus

A strobilus is a structure present on many land plant species consisting of sporangia-bearing structures densely aggregated along a stem. Strobili are often called cones, but many botanists restrict the use of the term cone to the woody seed strobili of conifers...

 are open type sporophyll

Sporophyll

A sporophyll is a leaf that bears sporangia. Both microphylls and megaphylls can be sporophylls. In heterosporous plants, sporophylls bear either megasporangia , or microsporangia...

s 25–50 cm long, brown, each with 6-12 ovules each. The lamina

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 is triangular ending in a sharp narrow spine. The male cones are solitary, erect, 20–25 cm long and 12–15 cm diameter.

The name derives from the Latin angulatus, which translates as "angular", referring to the leaflet arrangement on the leaf petiole.

Cultivation

It is occasionally grown as an ornamental plant

Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...

; seeds are presently available for buyers.

As Food

The seed-like kernels of the cycad palm were eaten by aboriginal australians because of the seed's high starch content. The seeds ripened during the dry season, when other foods consumed by native hunter-gatherers were scarce. A large grove represented a huge natural food source, and would be exploited by several native band groups. In its natural state the seed is highly toxic to mammals. The Australians recognized this danger, and responded by two methods. They removed the toxins by leaching with water for three to five days and then baking the starch; or they allowed the kernels to ferment before cooking and eating them. Note that the kernels contain carcinogens, and are not recommended for human consumption, even prepared through traditional methods.