Cycas micronesica is a type 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...

 found in Micronesia

Micronesia

Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....

 , the Marianas Group and the western Caroline Islands

Caroline Islands

The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...

. The species, previously lumped with Cycas rumphii

Cycas rumphii

Cycas rumphii, commonly known as Queen Sago or the Queen Sago Palm, is a dioecious gymnosperm, a species of cycad in the genus Cycas native to the Malesian region. Although palm-like in appearance, it is not a palm.-Etymology:...

or Cycas circinalis

Cycas circinalis

Cycas circinalis, also known as the Queen Sago, is a type of cycad that was thought to be linked with the degenerative disease Lytico-Bodig disease on the island of Guam; however, the species native to Guam has since been recognised as a separate species, Cycas micronesica, by K.D...

, was described in 1994 by Ken Hill

Ken Hill (botanist)

Kenneth D. Hill was an Australian botanist, notable for his work on eucalypts, the systematics, evolution and conservation of the genus Cycas, as well as on botanical informatics....

. It is linked with the human degenerative disease Lytico-Bodig disease

Lytico-Bodig disease

Lytico-Bodig disease, sometimes spelled Lytigo-bodig is a neurological disease of uncertain aetiology that exists in the United States territory of Guam....

, which is similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...

 (ALS) through a neurotoxin

Neurotoxin

A neurotoxin is a toxin that acts specifically on nerve cells , usually by interacting with membrane proteins such as ion channels. Some sources are more general, and define the effect of neurotoxins as occurring at nerve tissue...

 in the seeds, which were a traditional food source on Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

 until the 1960s.

Conservation

Cycas micronesica is threatened by an introduced insect pest, the diaspidid

Diaspididae

Diaspididae is the largest family of scale insects with over 2650 described species in around 400 genera. As with all scale insects, the female produces a waxy protective scale beneath which it feeds on its host plant...

 scale

Scale insect

The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, generally classified as the superfamily Coccoidea. There are about 8,000 species of scale insects.-Ecology:...

 Aulocapsis yasumatsui, first recognised in Guam in December 2003. Because of this the species is considered to be endangered.

External links

• The Cycad Pages – Cycas micronesica