General info
- Cycas is a genus of plants belonging to an ancient lineage, the Cycadophyta, not closely related to palms, ferns, or trees. They are evergreen perennials, which achieved maximum diversity in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. (3)
- Cycas is the only genus recognized in the Cycadaceae family.. (3)
- Etymology: Cycas is a Greek name for a kind of palm, referring to the palm-like growth habit of the plant. The species epithet 'edentata' is Latin —dentata meaning toothed, with the Latin prefix -e, without—meaning 'without teeth', referring to the smooth margins of the female cone's megasporophyll apices. (1) (7)
- In the Philippines, the plant was known since the earliest account of Philippine flora. It lingered in taxonomical confusion until recognized it as a distinct species in 1995 and formally described the taxon as C. litoralis in 1999. However, de Laubenfels had already described the taxon as Cycas edentata in 1998. (7)

Botany
Cycas edentata is a medium-sized palm-like plant with emergent, usually unbranched trunk up to about 10 m tall. Trunk bears rosette oblong, bright to deep green, feather-like leaves at its tips. Stalked leaves are spiny, up to 2.3 m long, and consist of 100-200 glossy, stiff, leathery, narrowly boat-shaped leaflets arranged neatly on either side of the leaf's axis. The trees are male or female, instead of flowers producing musky-scented cones growing at the tips of the tree trunk. Male trees produce cones that are compactly and regularly arranged, narrowly ovoid-cylindrical, orange-brown, and 30-60 by11-14 cm. Male cones are strongly scented, consisting microsporophylls that are 3.7-4.4 by 1.1-2.3 cm spirally arranged on a central axis. Microsporophylls have a distinct long, stout spine at the end, which differentiates from the vegetatively smaller Cycas rumphii. Female trees produce cones that are loosely arranged and elongated. Female cones consist of megasporophylls that are covered with brown hairs, 2-3 by 1.8-2.3 cm. Ovules and seeds are found on the margins of the megasporophylls. (1)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- Grows in sandy or rocky coastal vegetation , along shorelines in full or moderate shade.
- Also native to Andaman Islands, Borneo, Java, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sumatra, Thailand and Vietnam.
- IUCN listed as "Near Threatened" — the decline attributed to declining shoreline habitat. (5)

Constituents
- Study of dichlormethane extract of C. edentata isolated 9αH-isopimara-7,15-diene (1), ß-sitosteryl fatty acid ester (2), and a mixture of ß-sitosterol (3a) and stigmasterol (3b) from the bark, and 3 and a mixture of 3a and 4b from the sclerotesta. (4)
- Study of dichlormethane extract of sarcotesta endotesta, leaflets, and male cones of C. edentata; and isolated ß-sitosteryl-3ß-glucopyranoside-6'-O-palmitate (1) from the sarcotesta; ß-sitosteryl fatty acid ester (2), unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters (3), and a mixture of ß-sitosterol (4a) and stigmasterol (4b) in about 5:1 ratio from the endotesta; chlorophyll-a (5) from the leaflets; and triacylglycerols (6) from the male cone. (5)

Availability
- Wild-crafted.
- Ornamental cultivation.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Cycas edentata / A Singapore Government Agency Website / FLORA & FAUNA WEB
(2)
Cycas edentata / Plants of the World Online
(3)
Cycas / Wikipedia
(4)
Chemical Constituents of Cycas edentata / Consolacion Y Ragasa, Vincent Antonio S Ng, Esperanza Maribel G Agoo, Chien-Chang Shen / Int J Pharm Sci Rev Res, July-August 2015; 33(2) Art 22: pp 107-109 /
(5)
Secondary Metabolites from Cycas edentata / Vuncent Antonio S Ng , Consolacion Ragasa et al / J Pharm Sci & Res., 2015' 7(9): pp 643-646 / ISSN: 0975-1459
(6)
Antidiabetic effects of Cycas edentata aqueous leaf extract ion the blood glucose levels of alloxan-induced diabetic ICR-mice (Mus musculus L.) / Elisha Hae V Elardo, Abbie Grace N Olea, Rodel Jonathan S Vitor II / Narl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol., 2017; 7(11): pp 1284-1290 /
DOI: 10.5455/mjppp.2017.7.0726018082017
(7)
The genus Cycad (Cycadaceae) in the Philippines / A J Lindstrom, K D Hill,L C Stanberg / Telopea, 2008; 12(1): pp 119-145 / ISSN: 0312-9764
(8)
Cycads / Backyard Buddies

ng Passiflora names / /Maintained by: Michel H. Porcher / MULTILINGUAL MULTISCRIPT PLANT NAME DATABASE / Copyright © 1995 - 2020 / A Work in Progress. School of Agriculture and Food Systems. Faculty of Land & Food Resources. The Univers ity of Melbourne. Australia.
(2)
Sorting Eragrostis names / /Maintained by: Michel H. Porcher / MULTILINGUAL MULTISCRIPT PLANT NAME DATABASE / Copyright © 1995 - 2020 / A Work in Progress. School of Agriculture and Food Systems. Faculty of Land & Food Resources. The University of Melbourne. Australia.

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