Cycas schumanniana

Cycas schumanniana is a cycad of the inland grasslands of north-eastern Papua New Guinea, known from the provinces of Madang, Morobe and Eastern Highlands, up to 1,350 m above sea level. This species of the genus Cycas was described in 1900 by the German botanist Carl Lauterbach and named after Karl Moritz Schumann, of the Berlin Botanical Museum. Long overlooked, it was reinstated as a species by K.D. Hill in 1994. Its narrow leaflets, less than 1 cm wide, and its microsporophylls with a short, sharply upturned point are its main features. The IUCN lists it as Near Threatened.

Key facts about Cycas schumanniana

  • Accepted name: Cycas schumanniana Lauterb. (1900), accepted by The World List of Cycads (version 2026.08.15) and by GBIF; POWO could not be consulted
  • Former names and synonyms: no synonym recorded by The World List of Cycads; de Laubenfels and Adema (1998) referred to it most of the collections that Hill (1994) had cited under Cycas campestris
  • Family: Cycadaceae, order Cycadales
  • Common names: none attested, in English or in a language of New Guinea, in the sources consulted
  • Natural range: Papua New Guinea (Madang, Morobe and Eastern Highlands provinces), on either side of the main mountain chain; Species+ adds Indonesia, a presence not confirmed (see In the wild)
  • IUCN status: Near Threatened (NT, criteria B1b(iii,v) according to The World List of Cycads), assessment by J.D. Bösenberg dated 2020 and published in Red List version 2023-1; NT according to 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: in the wild, open grassland up to 1,350 m; no cultivation data
  • Habit and adult size: trunk up to 2.5 m tall and 20 to 25 cm across, sometimes branched; leaves 75 to 150 cm long
  • In the UK, US and Australia: Cambridge University Botanic Garden (accession of 2017), Oxford and the National Botanic Garden of Wales (declared to BGCI); Montgomery Botanical Center (Florida), Lotusland and Descanso Gardens (California); no Australian record
  • Toxicity: no data specific to the species; treat it as poisonous, like all Cycas (see Toxicity and precautions)

How to recognise Cycas schumanniana

Look at the leaflets first. In the key by de Laubenfels and Adema (1998), Cycas schumanniana is the only cycad of its group whose leaflets are always less than 10 mm wide. On male plants, the microsporophylls end in an obtuse tip extended by a short, sharply upturned spike. The description below is theirs; Lauterbach’s original description and Hill’s account of 1994 could not be read.

  • Trunk: up to 2.5 m tall and 20 to 25 cm in diameter, occasionally branched.
  • Leaves: 75 to 150 cm long, with 50 to 105 leaflets on each side; petiole 24 to 55 cm long, with a few spines or none.
  • Leaflets: 9 to 22 cm long and 5 to 9 mm wide, with slightly recurved margins, glossy dark green above and paler below, the midrib more prominent on the underside.
  • Male cones: ovoid, 17 to 20 cm long and 8 to 10 cm across, on a stalk 2.5 to 4 cm long (described from cones that were probably immature); microsporophylls up to 20 mm wide, with a point about 3 mm long.
  • Megasporophylls (the fertile leaves of female plants): carrying 2 to 6 ovules; the sterile, triangular part is 25 to 40 mm long and 19 to 29 mm wide, with 10 to 20 teeth on each side (1 to 2 mm long at the base, 2 to 4 mm higher up) and a point 10 to 15 mm long.
  • Seeds: yellow to orange, 28 to 42 mm long and 23 to 34 mm wide.

Hybrids

No hybrid is documented. De Laubenfels and Adema (1998) nevertheless consider Cycas schumanniana clearly intermediate between Cycas armstrongii (in their broad sense, which then included Cycas papuana) and Cycas scratchleyana, and do not rule out some sort of hybrid origin; this hypothesis has not been tested.

Possible confusion

Collectors have often identified it as Cycas papuana or as Cycas media. According to de Laubenfels and Adema (1998), both have microsporophylls with a long, tapering tip, only the very end of which bends towards the top of the cone, whereas Cycas schumanniana has an obtuse tip with a sharply bent spike; Cycas papuana also usually has narrower leaflets, and Cycas media megasporophylls with a longer tip. As early as 1992, Hill noted that the cycads of northern Papua New Guinea resemble Cycas media but keep a more persistent down, and that they probably represent Cycas schumanniana.

Cycas campestris, from the Port Moresby area, belongs to the same group; de Laubenfels and Adema (1998) contrast it with the much narrower leaflets of Cycas schumanniana and its shorter teeth at the tip of the megasporophylls. Cycas scratchleyana, a forest cycad, has leaflets 10 to 16 mm wide and a petiole spiny for almost its whole length.

Taxonomy

Cycas schumanniana is a name accepted by The World List of Cycads and by GBIF; POWO could not be consulted. Carl Lauterbach described it in Die Flora der deutschen Schutzgebiete in der Südsee (pp. 154–155), from a collection he made himself (no. 2745) on 4 September 1896 in the Bismarck Mountains (The World List of Cycads). The World List of Cycads dates the work to 1900, de Laubenfels and Adema (1998) to 1901. The holotype, kept in Berlin, was destroyed; The World List of Cycads gives a lectotype at the Wrocław herbarium (WRSL), whereas de Laubenfels and Adema (1998) considered that a neotype from the Bismarck Mountains was needed. The typification can only be settled in Hill (1994), which could not be read.

The name long remained unused. In his study of the Cycas media group in New Guinea, Hill (1994) recognised three species: Cycas campestris, new, and Cycas papuana and Cycas schumanniana, reinstated after a period in synonymy (page 536, figures 3B and 8, according to de Laubenfels and Adema); the same paper created series Armstrongianosae and lectotypified subsection Endemicae, to which this group belongs. Only the abstract of that paper was read, so the exact series in which Hill placed the species is not given here. De Laubenfels and Adema (1998) accepted the species and referred to it all the collections that Hill had cited under Cycas campestris except the type; The World List of Cycads follows Hill and accepts both species.

Etymology and history

The epithet honours Karl Moritz Schumann (1851–1904), German botanist and curator at the Berlin Botanical Museum (Haynes 2022), co-author with Lauterbach of the flora of the German Pacific colonies in which the species was published.

In cultivation, the oldest accession found is at Montgomery Botanical Center, in Florida, whose number (69402) probably dates it to 1969 (see In cultivation in the UK, US and Australia). No other history of its introduction is documented.

Common names

No English common name is attested, and the British nursery Trebrown knows of none. No name in a language of New Guinea has been found for this species in the sources consulted.

In the wild

Cycas schumanniana grows in Papua New Guinea, on either side of the main mountain chain, in the provinces of Madang, Morobe and Eastern Highlands (The World List of Cycads). It is a plant of open grassland, up to 1,350 m above sea level (de Laubenfels and Adema 1998). These authors stress that it grows in grasslands within the rainforest zone, a habitat close to that of Cycas papuana and Cycas media. Pollination and phenology are not documented in the sources consulted.

The sources disagree on one point: Species+, the official CITES database, records the species in Indonesia as well as in Papua New Guinea (consulted on 17 October 2026). The World List of Cycads gives Papua New Guinea only, and the revision of the Cycas of Indonesia by Lindström, Hill and Stanberg (2009), which recognises ten species in the country, does not mention it. Its presence on the Indonesian side therefore remains unconfirmed.

Conservation status and regulation

The IUCN lists Cycas schumanniana as Near Threatened (NT), in the assessment by J.D. Bösenberg dated 2020 and published in version 2023-1 of the Red List, which replaces that of K.D. Hill (2010); the Red List data relayed by GBIF give the same category (consulted on 24 October 2026). The World List of Cycads gives the criteria B1b(iii,v): the extent of occurrence is limited, and a decline in habitat quality and in the number of mature plants is observed or expected, without all the thresholds of a threatened category being reached.

Like every species in the genus except Cycas beddomei, Cycas schumanniana falls under CITES Appendix II, where the family Cycadaceae has been included since 4 February 1977. Annotation #4 (CoP20 version, in force since 5 March 2026) exempts seeds, pollen, seedlings and tissue cultures obtained in vitro and transported in sterile containers, and cut flowers of artificially propagated plants; international trade in the plants themselves requires an export permit. The United Kingdom, the United States and Australia apply CITES through their own legislation; in the European Union the species is in Annex B of Regulation (EC) No 338/97, as set by Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/1383, applicable since 29 June 2026. Species+, the official CITES database, names the species and confirms this status. This information was checked in October 2026 and does not replace the official texts: check the rules in force, ask for proof of origin and prefer plants raised from seed in cultivation.

Growing Cycas schumanniana

In short: it is held by several botanic gardens in Britain and the United States, but none of them has published growing advice, and no grower’s report has been found. A specialist seed merchant has listed seed under this name, without a verifiable provenance, and its current availability could not be checked.

Outdoor and in-ground cultivation

The points below are deductions from its habitat, not documented results. A cycad of tropical grasslands up to 1,350 m is likely to want full sun, a free-draining soil and warmth for most of the year. Outdoors, only frost-free climates can be considered. Lotusland, at Santa Barbara in southern California, declares it to BGCI and grows its cycad collection in the open, but no source says where its plants of this species are grown or how they behave.

Container cultivation

In the United Kingdom and other temperate regions, a pot in a heated glasshouse is the cautious option. No European experience exists.

In cultivation in the UK, US and Australia

In short: a few botanic gardens in Britain and the United States, none in Australia.

  • United Kingdom: the online catalogue of Cambridge University Botanic Garden lists a wild-derived accession, number 20173419, received in 2017 according to its number (consulted on 24 October 2026). Oxford Botanic Garden and the National Botanic Garden of Wales also declare the species to BGCI; such a declaration shows that a garden held it at some point, not that the plant is alive today.
  • United States: Montgomery Botanical Center, in Coral Gables (Florida), lists four accessions in its online catalogue: 69402, probably of 1969 according to the numbering, 951200 (1995), 2000259 (2000) and 20070563 (2007) (consulted on 24 October 2026). Ganna Walska Lotusland, at Santa Barbara, and Descanso Gardens, at La Cañada Flintridge (California), declare it to BGCI, as does the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System at Beltsville (Maryland).
  • Australia: no record in BGCI or in the Australian garden catalogues checked in October 2026.

Elsewhere, BGCI also lists the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam and Singapore Botanic Gardens. The British nursery Trebrown gives the species a USDA zone 9b rating, its own commercial classification, not a documented trial. No report from a private grower in these countries was found.

Propagation

The plant is dioecious: seed requires a male and a female plant. No germination data specific to the species have been published. Seeds are exempt from CITES under annotation #4; look only for seed of legal, documented origin.

Pests and diseases

No pest or disease specific to the species is documented. In cultivation, as with any Cycas, scales such as Aulacaspis yasumatsui can attack it, and overwatering or poor drainage rots the trunk and roots.

Cold hardiness

No cold-tolerance data exist for Cycas schumanniana. It grows up to 1,350 m, but no source consulted says what temperatures it meets there, and no measurement or growing report gives any indication of its tolerance of cool conditions or frost.

Mediterranean and European experience

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

United Kingdom, United States and Australia

No cold reading was found in any country. The only figure available is Trebrown’s commercial zone 9b rating, which is not based on a published trial. Treat it as a frost-tender plant: glasshouse in the UK, frost-free gardens elsewhere.

Toxicity and precautions

No toxicity study specific to Cycas schumanniana has been found, but the risk is 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. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, treat this species as poisonous: keep seeds and leaves out of reach of children and animals and wear gloves to clean 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

Where does Cycas schumanniana grow?

In Papua New Guinea, in the grasslands of Madang, Morobe and Eastern Highlands provinces, up to 1,350 m. Species+ also records it in Indonesia, but the other sources do not confirm this.

Who is the species named after?

Karl Moritz Schumann (1851–1904), German botanist at the Berlin Botanical Museum.

How can it be recognised?

By its narrow leaflets (5 to 9 mm), its petiole with few or no spines and its microsporophylls with an obtuse tip ending in a short, upturned spike.

Is it the same cycad as Cycas campestris?

No. The World List of Cycads accepts both species, even though de Laubenfels and Adema (1998) referred most collections of Cycas campestris to Cycas schumanniana.

Is it endangered?

Not yet. The IUCN lists it as Near Threatened: its range is limited and its habitat is deteriorating.

Is it hardy?

There is no way to tell. No cold data exist; it lives in a tropical climate, up to 1,350 m. In the UK, grow it under glass.

Can I see it in a botanic garden?

Possibly: Cambridge University Botanic Garden lists an accession of 2017, and Montgomery Botanical Center in Florida holds four. Check with the garden before visiting.

Further reading on Succulentes

Sources

Reference sites

Bibliography

  • Lauterbach, C. (1900). Cycadaceae. In: Schumann, K. & Lauterbach, C. (eds), Die Flora der deutschen Schutzgebiete in der Südsee: 153–155. Borntraeger, Leipzig. [Original description; not consulted (Biodiversity Heritage Library inaccessible), cited from The World List of Cycads, which dates it to 1900; de Laubenfels and Adema (1998) date the work to 1901.]
  • Hill, K.D. (1994). The Cycas media group (Cycadaceae) in New Guinea. Australian Systematic Botany 7(6): 527–541. doi:10.1071/SB9940527 [Reinstatement of the species; only the abstract was read (Crossref).]
  • Hill, K.D. (1992). A preliminary account of Cycas (Cycadaceae) in Queensland. Telopea 5(1): 177–206. doi:10.7751/telopea19924964 [Remark on the cycads of northern Papua New Guinea (p. 185); full text consulted.]
  • 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 [Revision of the Indonesian Cycas: ten species, without Cycas schumanniana; full text consulted.]
  • de Laubenfels, D.J. & Adema, F. (1998). A taxonomic revision of the genera Cycas and Epicycas gen. nov. (Cycadaceae). Blumea 43(2): 351–400. [Description (p. 375), key, habitat, possible hybrid origin, need for a neotype; full text consulted.]
  • Bösenberg, J.D. (2023). Cycas schumanniana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T42082A69156461. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T42082A69156461.en [Current assessment (dated 2020); reference found on Crossref, NT category confirmed by GBIF; Red List page not consulted (access blocked).]
  • Hill, K.D. (2010). Cycas schumanniana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T42082A10623647. [Previous assessment; reference found on The World List of Cycads and Crossref; Red List page not consulted (access blocked).]
  • Whitelock, L.M. (2002). The Cycads. Timber Press, Portland. [Cited by The World List of Cycads for the description and etymology; not consulted.]
  • 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.]