Cycas lacrimans

Cycas lacrimans is a cycad of the hills of eastern Mindanao, in the Philippines, known from the province of Davao Oriental, where it grows in forest on serpentine soils. Described in 2008 by Anders Lindström and Ken Hill, this member of the genus Cycas owes its name, Latin for “weeping”, to its long leaves with drooping leaflets. First collected in 1927 but long confused with other species, it was recognised as distinct only in 2006. The IUCN lists it as Endangered.

Key facts about Cycas lacrimans

  • Accepted name: Cycas lacrimans A.Lindstr. & K.D.Hill (2008), accepted by The World List of Cycads (version 2026.08.15) and by GBIF; POWO could not be consulted directly
  • Former names and synonyms: no synonym; plants formerly reported as Cycas circinalis (Amoroso 1986) and, for the type collection, as Cycas silvestris in the sense of de Laubenfels and Adema (1998)
  • Family: Cycadaceae, order Cycadales
  • Common names: no name attested, in English or any other language
  • Natural range: Philippines, eastern Mindanao (Davao Oriental: around Mati, Mount Galintan, Mount Hamiguitan)
  • IUCN status: Endangered (EN, criterion B1ab(i,ii,iii,v)), assessment by Anders Lindström and Esperanza Maribel Agoo published in 2022; category confirmed by the Red List data relayed by GBIF
  • CITES and other protection: CITES Appendix II (seeds exempt under annotation #4); Annex B in the European Union
  • Documented hardiness: no data (see Cold hardiness)
  • Light and soil: hill forest, on serpentine soils
  • Habit and adult size: trunk 1 to 2 m tall and 18 to 20 cm across; leaves 168 to 200 cm long
  • In the UK, US and Australia: one accession at Montgomery Botanical Center, Florida (accessioned in 2025)
  • Toxicity: no data for the species; treat it as poisonous, like all Cycas (see Toxicity and precautions)

How to recognise Cycas lacrimans

Among the cycads of the Philippines, Cycas lacrimans is recognised by a combination of three characters: lax, drooping leaflets that give the leaf a “weeping” look, long megasporophylls (the fertile leaves of female plants) with reduced lateral spines, and seeds without a spongy layer. In the key of Lindström and colleagues (2008), the drooping leaves are what separate it from Cycas riuminiana, whose leaves are flat. Description after the original publication (Lindström, Hill and Stanberg 2008):

  • Trunk: upright, 1 to 2 m tall and 18 to 20 cm across, not strongly swollen at the base; bark thin, with persistent cataphylls.
  • Leaves: 168 to 200 cm long, glossy green, flat in section, with 76 to 85 leaflets; petiole 45 to 50 cm, without down, spiny over 90 to 100% of its length with stout, needle-like spines about 6 mm long; basal leaflets 17 to 19 cm, not reduced to spines.
  • Median leaflets: 28 to 32 cm long and 7 to 13 mm wide, paler below, 12 to 14 mm apart, narrowed to 2 to 3 mm at the base, curving downwards; margins folded, not wavy; tip acute; midrib sunken above, raised below.
  • Cataphylls (the scale leaves protecting the crown): broadly triangular, stiff, hairy, 55 to 60 mm long.
  • Male cones: ovoid, light brown, about 42 cm long and 16 cm across; microsporophylls about 34 mm by 19 mm, with a very slender apical spine 12 to 17 mm long.
  • Megasporophylls: about 37 cm long, with persistent cream down, carrying 4 to 6 hairless ovules; blade triangular, about 55 mm by 20 mm, shallowly comb-like, with 15 to 24 sharp lateral spines 3 to 8 mm long; apical spine distinct, 35 to 38 mm long.
  • Seeds: oblong, about 40 mm by 20 mm; inner shell smooth; no spongy layer.

Hybrids

No natural or cultivated hybrid is documented for this species.

Possible confusion

  • Cycas riuminiana, from the northern Philippines (Luzon): the same type of megasporophyll and non-spongy seeds, but flat leaves with leaflets that do not droop;
  • Cycas aenigma, described from plants grown on Palawan: in the key of Lindström and colleagues (2008), its megasporophylls have a much longer apical blade, whereas that of Cycas lacrimans is under 80 mm;
  • Cycas edentata, a coastal cycad also found on Mindanao: megasporophylls with indistinct lateral spines, seeds with a spongy layer;
  • the other cycads of Mindanao, Cycas flabellata and Cycas mindanaensis, described in 2019, and Cycas sancti-lasallei: their original descriptions could not be read, so the characters that separate them from Cycas lacrimans cannot be given here.

Taxonomy

Cycas lacrimans is a name accepted by The World List of Cycads and by GBIF; POWO could not be consulted directly. It was described in the revision of the Cycas of the Philippines by Anders Lindström, of Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden, Ken Hill and L.C. Stanberg (Telopea 12(1): 136–138, fig. 5), which also named Cycas saxatilis, Cycas aenigma, Cycas vespertilio and Cycas nitida. The species is placed there in subsection Cycas of section Cycas, a group of about fifteen species defined by seeds without a spongy layer and a narrow megasporophyll blade, mostly plants of closed forest on ridges away from the coast.

Before 2008 these plants went under other names. Amoroso (1986) reported cycads from Bukidnon, Surigao and Zamboanga, without specimens, as Cycas circinalis; Lindström and colleagues refer these reports to the new species. De Laubenfels and Adema (1998) had placed the type collection in Cycas silvestris, a species that Hill regards as endemic to Australia; Hill and Stanberg (2009), rejecting de Laubenfels’s treatment, identified that collection as Cycas lacrimans. For the reader, this means that old records of “Cycas circinalis” or “Cycas silvestris” from Mindanao may refer to this species.

Etymology and history

The epithet comes from the Latin lacrimans, “weeping”, a reference to the drooping, weeping habit of the leaves (Lindström et al. 2008).

The type was collected in March–April 1927 by Ramos and Edaño, collectors of the Bureau of Science in Manila, near Mati, in the Davao region (Ramos & Edaño BS 48953; holotype in New York, isotypes in London, Bogor and Paris). The same collectors gathered the species on Mount Galintan in June 1927. It was not recognised as distinct until 2006, during Lindström’s fieldwork on Mindanao: first from a plant growing at a house at the foot of Mount Galintan, in San Isidro, planted in the 1960s and said to have come from a nearby coast since destroyed, then from a population in the Maeudlong Forest Reserve on Mount Hamiguitan, visited in March 2007.

Common names

No common name is recorded for this species, in English, French or any language of the Philippines, in the sources consulted.

In the wild

Cycas lacrimans is known with certainty only from the hill forests of eastern Mindanao, in Davao Oriental province: around Mati, on Mount Galintan and on Mount Hamiguitan, on serpentine soils (soils derived from ultrabasic rocks). The older reports from Bukidnon, Surigao and Zamboanga are not backed by specimens and remain to be confirmed. GBIF holds a single record under this name, a herbarium specimen from the Philippines (consulted on 21 October 2026).

In 2008 Lindström and colleagues estimated its range at less than 50 km² and its population at fewer than 5,000 plants, with a loss of habitat of 20 to 50%. Its pollinator, phenology and seed dispersers are not documented.

Conservation status and regulation

Cycas lacrimans is listed as Endangered (EN) by the IUCN, under criterion B1ab(i,ii,iii,v): a very small range, with a continuing decline in its extent, the area occupied, habitat quality and the number of mature plants. The assessment, by Anders Lindström and Esperanza Maribel Agoo, was published in version 2022-1 of the Red List (reference checked on Crossref), and the Red List data relayed by GBIF confirm the category (consulted on 21 October 2026); the Red List itself could not be consulted. The authors of the species had recommended this category as early as 2008: if it is restricted to this small area, they wrote, it needs urgent protection in situ, as deforestation and other habitat destruction there are extreme.

In the Philippines the two main threats to cycads are habitat loss and the removal of plants from the wild for trade or use, and the Asian cycad scale is spreading rapidly (see Pests and diseases).

Like every species in the genus except Cycas beddomei, Cycas lacrimans is listed in CITES Appendix II, through the listing of the family Cycadaceae, included since 4 February 1977. The listing carries annotation #4 (CoP20 version, in force since 5 March 2026): seeds, pollen, seedlings or tissue cultures obtained in vitro and transported in sterile containers, and cut flowers of artificially propagated plants, are exempt, whereas international trade in the plants themselves requires an export permit. Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States apply CITES through their own national legislation; in the European Union the species is in Annex B of Regulation (EC) No 338/97, whose annexes in force are set by Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/1383, applicable since 29 June 2026. Species+, the official CITES database, names the species, with the Philippines as the range state, and confirms this status (searches of 3 and 12 October 2026). This general information does not replace the official texts: check the rules in force before buying or exchanging plants, ask the seller for proof of origin and prefer plants raised from cultivated seed.

Growing Cycas lacrimans

In short: Cycas lacrimans is grown locally on Mindanao, as the San Isidro plant used for its description shows, and has very recently entered a major American collection, but no growing advice specific to the species has been published and no grower’s report was found. Its habitat, tropical hill forest on ultrabasic soil, points to a plant needing warmth and humidity; this is a deduction from its habitat, not a growing result.

Outdoor and in-ground cultivation

Only frost-free tropical and near-tropical climates can be considered. The Montgomery Botanical Center, in Coral Gables (Florida), whose collection is grown outdoors, holds one accession of the species (see below); no planting result has been published there or elsewhere outside the Philippines.

Container cultivation

In temperate climates it would need a warm, humid glasshouse; no container growing report has been found. Searches of the French forum Fous de palmiers and the Italian forum Tropicamente returned no result for this species, and the Jardin zoologique tropical at La Londe-les-Maures, in the south of France, has published no observation on it.

In cultivation in the UK, US and Australia

The online catalogue of Montgomery Botanical Center (Florida) lists one accession of Cycas lacrimans, number 20250374, which by the garden’s numbering dates from 2025 (search of 21 October 2026); the catalogue does not say whether the plant is still alive or how it is doing. In BGCI PlantSearch, the only garden declaring the species is in the Philippines, the Northwestern University Ecological Park and Botanic Gardens at Laoag City (search of 21 October 2026); no British or Australian garden declares it, and it is absent from British and Australian records in the inventory of cycads compiled for this site (19 October 2026). No report from an English-speaking grower could be read; PalmTalk and Dave’s Garden could not be consulted.

Propagation

The plant is dioecious: a male and a female plant are needed to obtain seed. No germination data specific to the species have been published. Seeds are exempt from CITES under annotation #4; ask for seed from cultivated plants.

Pests and diseases

No disease specific to the species is documented. In the Philippines the Asian cycad scale, Aulacaspis yasumatsui, is spreading rapidly and seriously affects large numbers of cultivated cycads on Luzon, Negros and Panay; in 2008 its presence in wild populations had not been confirmed, but its spread to other islands worried the authors (Lindström et al. 2008).

Cold hardiness

No cold-tolerance data exist for Cycas lacrimans. Mindanao has a frost-free tropical climate, and nothing allows us to say that the plant tolerates frost.

Mediterranean experience

No growing result has been published in Europe, in the open ground or in a pot, and no dated frost event concerns the species.

United Kingdom, United States and Australia

No cold reading or dated growing report was found, either on forums or from botanic gardens; the Montgomery accession is too recent to have produced any. No USDA zone can be given. In the UK and in most of the United States and Australia outside the tropics, keep it under heated glass.

Toxicity and precautions

No toxicity analysis specific to Cycas lacrimans has been found. The risk is, however, well documented in the genus: Cycas tissues, and the seeds above all, contain cycasin, which is converted during digestion into methylazoxymethanol, toxic to the liver and nervous system, along with a neurotoxic amino acid, BMAA. The ASPCA lists the sago palm (Cycas revoluta) as poisonous to dogs, cats and horses. Until proven otherwise, treat the plant as poisonous: keep seeds and leaves out of reach of children and pets, and wear gloves to clean the seeds. If any part is swallowed, contact a poison centre, a doctor or a vet straight away.

Traditional uses

No use is documented for this species in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

What does lacrimans mean?

“Weeping” in Latin: the name describes the leaves, whose drooping leaflets give them a weeping look.

Where does Cycas lacrimans grow?

In eastern Mindanao, in the Philippines, in Davao Oriental province, in hill forest on serpentine soils.

How can it be told from Cycas riuminiana?

By its lax, drooping leaflets; Cycas riuminiana has flat leaves.

Why was it described only in 2008?

First collected in 1927, it had been filed under other names; fieldwork in 2006 showed that it was a distinct species.

Is it endangered?

Yes. The IUCN lists it as Endangered: its range is tiny and deforestation there is severe.

Is it hardy?

Almost certainly not. No cold data exist; it is a plant of tropical forest.

Is it poisonous?

It must be assumed so. No analysis exists for the species, but all the cycads studied contain serious toxins, especially in the seeds.

Further reading on Succulentes

Sources

Reference sites

Bibliography

  • Lindström, A.J., Hill, K.D. & Stanberg, L.C. (2008). The genus Cycas (Cycadaceae) in The Philippines. Telopea 12(1): 119–145. doi:10.7751/telopea20085805 [Original description (pp. 136–138), key, subsection Cycas, status table, threats and cycad scale; full text consulted.]
  • Hill, K.D. & Stanberg, L.C. (2009). Notes on Cycas truncata de Laub. and related matters. Telopea 12(3): 447–450. doi:10.7751/telopea20095832 [Identification of the type collection, cited as Cycas silvestris by de Laubenfels and Adema; full text consulted.]
  • Amoroso, V.B. (1986). Morphological study of the sporophylls of Philippine Cycas. Philippine Journal of Science 115(3): 177–198. [Reports under Cycas circinalis; not consulted, cited after Lindström et al. (2008).]
  • Laubenfels, D.J. de & Adema, F. (1998). A taxonomic revision of the genera Cycas and Epicycas gen. nov. (Cycadaceae). Blumea 43(2): 351–400. [Very broad species concepts; cited after Hill and Stanberg (2009).]
  • Lindström, A. & Agoo, E.M.G. (2022). Cycas lacrimans. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022-1: e.T187816A1827107. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T187816A1827107.en [Current assessment (EN); reference checked on Crossref, category relayed by GBIF; Red List page not consulted (access blocked).]
  • Haynes, J.L. (2022). Etymological compendium of cycad names. Phytotaxa 550(1): 1–31. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.550.1.1 [Source of the etymologies given by The World List of Cycads; not consulted directly.]
  • Calonje, M., Stevenson, D.W. & Osborne, R. (2026). The World List of Cycads, version 2026.08.15. Montgomery Botanical Center, Coral Gables. doi:10.5281/zenodo.21958524 [Reference checklist; consulted directly.]