Cycas montana

Cycas montana is a cycad of the montane forests of inland Flores, in the Lesser Sunda Islands (the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara). This member of the genus Cycas was described in 2009 by Anders Lindström and Ken Hill, who set it apart from the other Indonesian cycads by its green leaves, its stiff, narrow leaflets and the persistent brown down on its petioles. It is one of the least documented species in the genus; the IUCN lists it as Least Concern.

Key facts about Cycas montana

  • Accepted name: Cycas montana A.Lindstr. & K.D.Hill (2009), accepted by The World List of Cycads (version 2026.08.15) and by GBIF; POWO could not be consulted
  • Former names and synonyms: none
  • Family: Cycadaceae, order Cycadales
  • Common names: no English name attested; “tulumpu” and “watai” on Flores (language not stated)
  • Natural range: Indonesia, island of Flores (East Nusa Tenggara), montane forests of the interior
  • IUCN status: Least Concern (LC), assessment by A. Lindström dated 2020 (Red List version 2023-1)
  • 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: in the wild, montane forest, at least from 400 to 650 m; no cultivation data
  • Habit and adult size: trunk up to 1.5 m tall and 30 to 35 cm in diameter; leaves 2.2 to 2.5 m long
  • In the UK, US and Australia: no garden record found
  • Toxicity: no data for the species; treat it as poisonous, like all Cycas (see Toxicity and precautions)

How to recognise Cycas montana

Among the cycads of Indonesia, Cycas montana is recognised by four characters combined by its authors: green, not glaucous, leaves; a persistent brown down on the petiole; stiff, narrow leaflets (less than 10 mm wide); and seeds without a spongy layer (Lindström, Hill and Stanberg 2009).

It is a stout cycad: the trunk is no more than 1.5 m tall but measures 30 to 35 cm across at its narrowest. The leaves, dark green and glossy, are 2.23 to 2.48 m long and carry 144 to 151 leaflets. The petiole, 63 to 72 cm long, is spiny along only about a fifth of its length. The median leaflets measure 23 to 25 cm by 8 to 10 mm; they are slightly keeled in section, with clearly recurved margins and a sharp, pungent tip. The cataphylls are narrowly triangular and soft.

Male cones have not been seen. The megasporophylls, 20 to 35 cm long, carry a persistent orange down and 2 to 6 glabrous ovules; their lanceolate blade, 4.5 to 10 cm long, is weakly comb-like, with 14 to 40 pungent lateral spines 9 to 13 mm long, and ends in a strong spine 25 to 40 mm long. The seeds described are ovoid, 50 to 55 mm by 30 to 45 mm, with an amber-brown fleshy coat, a fibrous layer and no spongy tissue.

Hybrids

No hybrid is documented for this species.

Possible confusion

In the key by Lindström, Hill and Stanberg (2009), Cycas montana sits next to Cycas javana, from Java: both have green leaves, a spiny petiole and a narrow megasporophyll blade with distinct lateral spines, but Cycas javana has broad leaflets, more than 10 mm wide. Cycas scratchleyana, from New Guinea, has a much broader megasporophyll blade (more than 35 mm). Cycas glauca, from Timor and Sumba, is told by its glaucous foliage, and Cycas apoa by its megasporophylls, which have almost no lateral spines.

The epithet montana is also used in other cycad genera, for unrelated plants on other continents: Zamia montana, from Colombia, and Macrozamia montana, from Australia. A label reading simply “montana” should therefore always be checked for the genus.

Taxonomy

Cycas montana is a name accepted by The World List of Cycads and by GBIF; POWO could not be consulted. The species was described in 2009 in the revision of the Cycas of Indonesia by Lindström, Hill and Stanberg (Telopea 12(3): 385–418), which also described Cycas sundaica.

The authors place it in section Cycas, subsection Cycas, a group of about a dozen species with no spongy tissue in the seed, a fibrous seed coat and a narrow megasporophyll blade, ranging from India and Sri Lanka to Luzon and New Guinea. Most are plants of closed forest, often on ridges away from the coast.

The article contains a contradiction: the account of the subsection says that the seeds of Cycas javana and Cycas montana had not been seen and that their fibrous layer is only presumed, whereas the species description gives measured seeds with a fibrous layer. This page follows the description while flagging that reservation.

Etymology and history

The epithet comes from the Latin montanus, “of mountains”, a reference to the montane habitat of the species on Flores (Lindström et al. 2009; Haynes 2022).

The type was collected by Anders Lindström on 27 April 2000 at 400 m, at the village of Wae Moto, Ndara (Nggoang district, Manggarai), in western Flores (holotype at the Bogor herbarium, BO; isotype at the University of British Columbia, UBC). Two older collections, made at Nunang (Manggarai) at 650 m in 1965 and in 1980, are kept at Leiden. During the same trip, Lindström recorded several plants grown in villages around Bajawa (Ngada), whose inhabitants said they came from the nearby forests.

Common names

No English common name is attested. Lindström, Hill and Stanberg (2009) record two local names, “tulumpu” and “watai”, without stating the language: several languages are spoken on Flores, and the exact use of these names remains to be documented.

In the wild

Cycas montana is endemic to Flores, where it is confined to the montane forests of the interior, at the highest elevations (Lindström et al. 2009). The known localities are in the west and centre of the island (Manggarai, Ngada), between 400 and 650 m where an altitude is given, and on Mount Ondorea, near Nangamboa. The extent of the populations, pollination and phenology are not documented. GBIF holds four occurrence records under this name (consulted on 21 October 2026): one from Indonesia and three from Thailand, outside the known natural range; their nature (cultivated plants or mislabelled records) was not checked.

Conservation status and regulation

The IUCN lists Cycas montana as Least Concern (LC), in the assessment by A. Lindström dated 2020 and published in version 2023-1 of the Red List; the Red List data relayed by GBIF confirm this category (consulted on 21 October 2026). In 2009 the authors of the species described it as “not threatened, although not protected” and proposed the category Near Threatened (NT). No protected area holding the species is mentioned.

Like every species in the genus except Cycas beddomei, Cycas montana 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 and confirms this status (search of 3 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 montana

In short: apart from village plantings around Bajawa, on Flores, Cycas montana is not documented in cultivation by any institution consulted, and no grower’s report was found. As a plant of tropical mid-elevation forest, it can be assumed to need warmth all year round; this is a deduction, not a published growing result.

Outdoor and in-ground cultivation

No planting result has been published anywhere outside Flores. Only frost-free tropical and near-tropical climates can reasonably be considered.

Container cultivation

In temperate climates it would be a plant for a warm glasshouse or conservatory, in a pot; no container-growing report has been found. Searches of the French forum Fous de palmiers and the Italian forum Tropicamente for “Cycas montana” return only agaves and other plants sharing the epithet, and the Jardin zoologique tropical at La Londe-les-Maures, in the south of France, has published no observation on this species.

In cultivation in the UK, US and Australia

No British, American or Australian garden record was found: the species does not appear in BGCI PlantSearch or in the online catalogue of Montgomery Botanical Center in Florida (searches of 21 October 2026), nor in the inventory of cycads in British, American and Australian gardens 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 pest or disease specific to the species is documented. Cycad scale insects, including the Asian cycad scale, Aulacaspis yasumatsui, can attack all cultivated species.

Cold hardiness

No cold-tolerance data exist for Cycas montana. The Flores mountains where it grows, at around 400 to 650 m, have a frost-free tropical climate: despite its name, nothing allows us to say that the plant tolerates frost.

Mediterranean experience

No growing result has been published in Europe, in the ground or in a pot, and no dated frost event concerns the species; the Jardin zoologique tropical in the Var has published nothing on it.

United Kingdom, United States and Australia

No cold reading or dated growing report was found, either on forums or from botanic gardens. 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 montana 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. The plants recorded in villages around Bajawa show that the species is grown locally, but the reason (ornament, food or ritual use) is not given.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Cycas montana grow?

Only on the island of Flores, in Indonesia, in the montane forests of the interior, at least from 400 to 650 m.

Is it the same species as Zamia montana or Macrozamia montana?

No. They share the epithet, “of mountains”, but they are plants of different genera and continents: Zamia montana grows in Colombia and Macrozamia montana in Australia.

How can it be recognised?

By its glossy green leaves, the brown down that stays on the petiole, its stiff leaflets less than 1 cm wide and its seeds without a spongy layer.

Is it endangered?

No, according to the IUCN, which lists it as Least Concern. No protected area is known to hold it, however.

Is it hardy, given its name?

Almost certainly not. “Of mountains” here means tropical forest at around 400 to 650 m, without frost; no cold data exist.

Is it found in cultivation?

Rarely. It is planted in villages on Flores, but no cultivation is documented in botanic gardens in the UK, the US, Australia or Europe.

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. (2009). The genus Cycas (Cycadaceae) in Indonesia. Telopea 12(3): 385–418. doi:10.7751/telopea20095826 [Original description (pp. 396–397, fig. 3), key, subsection, local names, proposed status; full text consulted.]
  • Lindström, A. (2023). Cycas montana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023: e.T187819A1827204. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T187819A1827204.en [Red List assessment (dated 2020); reference found on Crossref, category LC relayed by GBIF, 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.]