Cycas xipholepis

Cycas xipholepis is a tree-like cycad of central Cape York Peninsula, in Queensland, Australia, where it is locally abundant in eucalypt savanna on deep sand. Described in 1996 by Ken Hill, this species of the genus Cycas takes its name, Greek for “sword scale”, from its long, hard, pungent cataphylls. Its flat, glossy dark green leaves and its wide range make it one of the least threatened Australian Cycas: the IUCN lists it as Least Concern.

Key facts about Cycas xipholepis

  • Accepted name: Cycas xipholepis K.D.Hill (1996), accepted by The World List of Cycads (version 2026.08.15) and by GBIF; POWO could not be consulted
  • Former names and synonyms: none; de Laubenfels and Adema (1998) sank it into Cycas lane-poolei, a treatment not followed
  • Family: Cycadaceae, order Cycadales
  • Common names: none attested
  • Natural range: Australia, Queensland: central Cape York Peninsula, from south of Coen to Batavia Downs and west to Merapah
  • IUCN status: Least Concern (LC), assessment by J.D. Bösenberg dated 2020 and published in 2022
  • CITES and other protection: CITES Appendix II (seeds exempt under annotation #4); Annex B in the European Union; “special least concern” and restricted plant in Queensland, according to WildNet
  • Documented hardiness: no data (see Cold hardiness)
  • Light and soil: savanna woodland of Eucalyptus tetrodonta, on deep white to yellow sands over laterite
  • Habit and adult size: trunk usually to 3 m, up to 6 or 8 m depending on the source, 10 to 15 cm across; leaves 0.7 to 1.2 m long
  • In the UK, US and Australia: Montgomery Botanical Center (Florida), four accessions from 2004; Royal Botanic Garden Sydney; no British record
  • Toxicity: no data specific to the species; treat it as poisonous, like all Cycas (see Toxicity and precautions)

How to recognise Cycas xipholepis

By a combination of three characters: dark green leaves on a fairly long petiole, flat leaflets with the midrib equally raised on both faces, and long (8 to 14 cm), hard, pungent cataphylls covered in short, close-pressed hairs (Hill 1996). The Flora of Australia singles out these long, hard cataphylls as the feature that readily separates the species within its series. The description below combines Hill (1996) and the Flora of Australia.

  • Trunk: to 3 m, rarely 8 m according to Hill (6 m according to the Flora), slender: 10 to 15 cm in diameter.
  • Leaves: 70 to 120 cm, flat in section (opposite leaflets set at 150 to 180° to each other), dark green, semi-glossy to highly glossy, with 100 to 210 leaflets; petiole 23 to 35 cm, usually hairless, unarmed or spiny for 5 to 50 % of its length.
  • Mid-leaf leaflets: 7.5 to 15 cm long and 4.5 to 7 mm wide, narrowed to 3 to 4 mm at the base, 6 to 9 mm apart, hairless, flat, with flat margins, paler beneath; midrib raised on both faces. New growth covered in a fine, close-pressed white and orange-brown down.
  • Cataphylls: linear, hard and pungent, 8 to 14 cm long, with short, close-pressed grey hairs.
  • Male cones: ovoid, about 20 cm long and 8 cm across; microsporophylls about 20 mm, with a slender, folded spine, abruptly upturned, of about 10 mm.
  • Megasporophylls: 15 to 27 cm, felted grey and orange-brown, bearing 2 to 6 ovules; blade triangular to lanceolate, 40 to 65 mm long and 20 to 30 mm wide, regularly toothed with 14 to 34 teeth 5 to 7 mm long; apical spine 17 to 24 mm.
  • Seeds: flattened-ovoid, orange, slightly bloomed, 25 to 36 mm long and 25 to 34 mm across; sarcotesta 3 to 4 mm thick.

Hybrids

No hybrid has been documented for this species.

Possible confusion

  • Cycas armstrongii, from the Northern Territory, and Cycas orientis, from Arnhem Land, of the same series: similar foliage but different cataphylls; in Cycas orientis the midrib is more raised beneath than above (Hill 1996).
  • Cycas yorkiana, further north: bright green, keeled leaves and soft cataphylls set in a thick crown of orange wool (Flora of Australia).
  • Cycas tuckeri, from the Coen district: short, soft cataphylls and very short megasporophylls.

Taxonomy

Cycas xipholepis is an accepted name in The World List of Cycads; POWO could not be consulted. Ken Hill described it in his revision of the Australian Cycas (Telopea 7(1): 32–33, fig. 15), in subsection Endemicae and series Armstrongianosae: a group of savanna species of northern Australia, all on deep, lateritic sandy soils on flat ground, which also includes Cycas armstrongii and Cycas orientis. According to the Flora of Australia, the long, hard cataphylls with their short, close indumentum readily separate it from the other species of the series.

De Laubenfels and Adema (1998) had merged it into Cycas lane-poolei, from Western Australia; this treatment has been followed neither by The World List of Cycads nor by the Flora of Australia.

Etymology and history

The epithet comes from the Greek xiphos, “sword”, and lepis, “scale”, an allusion to the long, hard, pungent cataphylls (Hill 1996; Haynes 2022).

The type was collected on 11 July 1994 by Ken Hill and Leonie Stanberg, 10.5 km west of the Telegraph Line road on the track from Batavia Downs to Sudley (Hill & Stanberg 4712; holotype in Sydney, isotypes in Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, at Kew, in Leiden, Melbourne and New York). The same collectors also found it 30 km south of Coen and near Holroyd homestead.

Common names

No common name is attested for this species, in English or in any other language, in the sources consulted; WildNet, the Queensland wildlife database, gives none either.

In the wild

Cycas xipholepis is widespread in central Cape York Peninsula, from south of Coen to Batavia Downs and west to Merapah. It is locally abundant on flat ground, on deep white to yellow sands over laterite, sometimes on low, stony laterite hills, mainly in savanna woodland dominated by Eucalyptus tetrodonta (Hill 1996; Flora of Australia). Pollination and seed dispersal are not documented.

Conservation status and regulation

The IUCN lists Cycas xipholepis as Least Concern (LC), on the basis of J.D. Bösenberg’s assessment cited by The World List of Cycads: according to Crossref it is dated 10 September 2020 and was published in 2022, and GBIF relays the category; the Red List itself could not be consulted. As early as 1996, Hill judged the species, locally abundant and widespread in a remote region, not to be threatened.

In Queensland, the state’s WildNet database lists it as “special least concern” under the Nature Conservation (Animals/Plants) Regulation 2020 (a listing recorded in April 2025), as a restricted plant and as a confidential taxon whose locations are not published; it also flags the species as recorded within a protected area, without naming it. No listing under the national EPBC Act appears in WildNet.

Like every species in the genus except Cycas beddomei, Cycas xipholepis is listed in CITES Appendix II, where the family Cycadaceae has appeared since 4 February 1977. The listing carries annotation #4 (the version adopted at CoP20, in force since 5 March 2026): seeds, pollen, seedlings and tissue cultures obtained in vitro and transported in sterile containers, as well as cut flowers of artificially propagated plants, are not covered by CITES; international trade in the plants themselves requires an export permit. In the European Union the species falls under Annex B of Regulation (EC) No 338/97, whose current annexes are set by Regulation (EU) 2026/1383, applicable since 29 June 2026. Species+, the official CITES database, lists the species, with Australia as its range state, and confirms this status (consulted on 24 October 2026).

This summary does not replace the official texts: check the regulations in force before any purchase or exchange, ask the seller for proof of origin and choose nursery-raised plants grown from seed.

Growing Cycas xipholepis

No cultivation guidance specific to Cycas xipholepis has been published, and no dated cultivation report was found on English-, French- or Italian-language forums. Its natural setting, monsoonal tropical savanna on deep sand, suggests a very free-draining mineral mix and full light: these are cautious inferences, not tested results.

Outdoor and in-ground cultivation

Only frost-free tropical climates, such as that of northern Queensland, can reasonably be considered for planting out. No planted specimen with a documented history outside its range has been found; the sources consulted do not say whether the plants held at Montgomery and in Sydney grow outdoors or under glass.

Container cultivation

Elsewhere, grow it in a pot, in a gritty mineral compost and in full light, and keep it in a heated glasshouse or conservatory in winter. Australian Cycas in general have a reputation in Europe for declining on their own roots through root rot in cool, wet spells; there is no documented experience for this species.

In cultivation in the UK, US and Australia

In short: one American and one Australian collection; no British record.

  • United States: Montgomery Botanical Center, in Coral Gables (Florida), lists four accessions in its online catalogue, numbered 20040263 and 20040266 to 20040268, all from 2004 according to the garden’s numbering, and is the only American garden declaring the species to BGCI (both consulted on 24 October 2026).
  • Australia: the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney lists the species in its online catalogue (Garden Explorer, search of 19 October 2026) and declares it to BGCI.
  • United Kingdom: no record in BGCI or in the British catalogues checked in October 2026. The British nursery Trebrown lists the species with a USDA zone 9b rating, its own commercial classification, not a documented trial.

A BGCI declaration shows that a garden held the plant at some point, not that it is alive today. No report from a private grower was found.

Propagation

The plant is dioecious: a male and a female are needed to obtain seed. No germination data specific to the species has been published; Cycas seed is usually sown fresh, in a free-draining mix and in warmth. 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 has been documented.

Cold hardiness

There is no cold-hardiness data for Cycas xipholepis. Central Cape York has a monsoonal tropical climate without frost: nothing supports the idea that the plant can withstand frost.

Mediterranean and European experience

No cultivation result has been published from southern France or Italy, outdoors or in a pot, and no dated cold event concerns the species.

United Kingdom, United States and Australia

No cold value and no dated cultivation report was found, from forums or from botanic gardens. Trebrown’s zone 9b rating is a commercial classification, not a measured result.

Toxicity and precautions

No toxicity analysis specific to Cycas xipholepis 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 the plant 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 of this species is documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

What does xipholepis mean?

“Sword scale” in Greek: the name describes the long, hard, pungent cataphylls at the top of the trunk.

Where does Cycas xipholepis grow?

In central Cape York, Queensland, from Coen to Batavia Downs and Merapah, in eucalypt savanna on deep sand.

Is it endangered?

No. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern, and Queensland as “special least concern”: it is abundant and widespread.

Is it a form of Cycas lane-poolei?

No, according to The World List of Cycads and the Flora of Australia; only the 1998 revision by de Laubenfels and Adema merged it with that Western Australian species.

How can I tell it from Cycas yorkiana?

By its flat, dark green leaves and its hard, pungent cataphylls; Cycas yorkiana has bright green, keeled leaves and a crown of orange wool.

Is it hardy in the UK?

Nothing suggests so. There is no cold data for the species, and its range is tropical: in Britain it should be grown under glass.

Is it poisonous?

It should be assumed so. No analysis exists for this species, but all the Cycas studied contain serious toxins, especially in their seeds.

Further reading on Succulentes

Sources

Reference sites

Bibliography

  • Hill, K.D. (1996). A taxonomic revision of the genus Cycas (Cycadaceae) in Australia. Telopea 7(1): 1–64. doi:10.7751/telopea19963040 [Original description (pp. 32–33), series Armstrongianosae; reference revision for Australia; full text consulted.]
  • Hill, K.D. (1998). Cycadaceae. In: McCarthy, P.M. (ed.), Flora of Australia 48: 597–635. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. [Consulted in its updated online version (profiles.ala.org.au).]
  • 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 concept; synonymy under Cycas lane-poolei; full text consulted.]
  • Bösenberg, J.D. (2022). Cycas xipholepis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T41994A69828589. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T41994A69828589.en [Assessment dated 10 September 2020; reference checked on The World List of Cycads and Crossref, LC category relayed by GBIF; Red List page 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 etymology 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.]