Cycads: Phylum Cycadophyta

The Cycadophyta contains one class (Cycadopsida) and one order (Cycadales). Cycads are one of four types of gymnosperms.  They are seed plants that are evergreen and dioecious.  Generally their leaves are compound.  They are often mistaken for palms or ferns but they are only distantly related to both. It total there are around 305 species of cycads in the world. The following map shows the global distribution of plants in this division.