Editing Cycas calcicola

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[[File:Cycas_calcicola.jpg|frame|Figure 1. ''C. calcicola'' with maturing seed.]]
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For many years relative to plant studies in our so called
Top End, there have been reports of a slender trunked form of
''Cycas'' with pronounced silver colouration through the
young upright fronds. Great fields of these grow amongst the
rocks of limestone outcrops and show the first return to
colour in areas annually burned off by aboriginals.
Maconochie, the Northern Territory botanist, was dedicated
to the study of the genus ''Cycas'' and indeed is credited
with the descriptions of two species during the 1970s period;
''Cycas pruinosa'' and ''C. calcicola'', the species
in question.

J.R. Maconochie describes this ''Cycas'' in his official
papers released during 1978 by the Herbarium of the Northern
Territory, Dept. of the Northern Territory, Alice Springs.
His listed habitats at that period were always in or near
limestone outcrops and in open forest in areas just north of
Katherine. Two other populations mentioned being at Bamboo
Creek on the Mandora Road south of Darwin and the other on
the East Alligator River. Further to this comes reports of
finding colonies in the Finniss River area by a young
naturalist with all the keen dedication of the late J.R.
Maconochie. Don Stallard of Darwin has even had success in
getting some ''Cycas'' species placed on the 'Trees of
Significance' listing. Don is convinced of the possible
hybridization in nature of ''Cycas calcicola'' and
''C. armstrongii''.

It is now evident that the two species spill into each
other's territory in the Top End, and Don is convinced that
hybrids exist between these species. So far he has found the
overlap in the Florence Falls area and north of Katherine and
upper reaches of the Daly River.
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The following description is from J.R. Maconochie (1977)
Palm-like shrub to 3 m high, trunk about 17-30cm diameter.
Fronds dark-green, flattened or arcuate in cross section,
(60-)80-90(-115)cm long, (9-)15-20 (-27)cm wide. Leaflets or
pinhas (150-)200-280 (-300) in number with revolute margins,
glabrous or pubescent above, pubescent in channels below.
Pinnae 8-12cm long, 2.5-3m m occasionally 4mm wide, straight
to slightly curved, apex attenuate to mucronate with a small
spine I mm long, slightly angled on the rachis, not decurrent
on the rachis. Rachis (including petiole) round to tetragonal
towards the base, about 10mm wide and 8mm thick at base to
2mm wide near tip, glabrous scurfy-ferruginous.

Male cone narrow ovoid, 17-26cm long and 5-6cm wide,
microsporophyll deltoid 15-25mm long, 5mm and 12mm wide at base and apex
respectively, with the terminal portion 6-10mm long,
grey-pubescent with a hooked tip in the same plane.
''Megasporophyll ferruginous'' to 15cm long, with
elliptic-rhombic sterile apex and a weakly developed spine
10-16mm long. Sterile apical regions 20-25mm long, 1-1lmm
broad with 7-8 fine papery marginal teeth or entire, lower
surface ferruginous-pubescent, upper surface glabrous with a
mottled brown-green papery or dried resinous surface.
Megaspores 2 to 6 per sporophyll, globular-ovoid, brown in
colour, surface slightly glaucous, about 32-35mm long and
25-27mm in diameter.
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[[File:Cycas_calcicola02.jpg|frame|Figure 2. Cultivated ''C. calcicola'', Katherine, NT.]]
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[[File:Cycas_calcicola10.jpg|frame|Figure 3. ''C. calcicola'']]
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[[File:Cycas_calcicola11.jpg|frame|Figure 4. ''C. calcicola'']]
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[[File:Cycas_calcicola12.jpg|frame|Figure 5. ''C. calcicola'' male cone.]]
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[[File:Cycas_calcicola13.jpg|frame|Figure 6. ''C. calcicola'' ripening seeds.]]
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===Contributed by: ===
Len Butt (Text and Figure 1)(from '''Palms & Cycads''' No. 27, Apr-Jun 1990)<br/>
Gary Beaumont (Figure 2,3,4,5,6)<br/>


===External Links:===
[https://www.cycadlist.org/taxon.php?Taxon_ID=76 World List], 
[https://www.iucnredlist.org/details/full/41989/0 IUCN],
[https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=Cycas+calcicola JSTOR],
[https://www.trebrown.com/plant_info.php?species=Cycas+calcicola Trebrown]
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[https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Cycas+calcicola%22&amp;num=10&amp;sa=Google+Search Google],
[https://images.google.com/images?q=%22Cycas+calcicola%22&amp;hl=en&amp;btnG=Google+Search GoogleImages],
[https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Cycas+calcicola Flickr],
<p>
[[Category:Cycas|calcicola]]
[[Category:Cycad|Cycas_calcicola]]