The cycads were very pretty this year and always remind me of someone very special. When the seed pod starts to develope it seems to be protected by the small shoots around it.
The pods of this particular species are low on the ground and surrounded by leaves.
It gets to be a tall pod and at the bottom of each seed are what look like spores. Maybe someone knows and can tell me what they actually are.
At first I thought they might be bug eggs but I watched them carefully and never saw anything crawling on them.
The summer progressed and the pods became dry and eventaully died off. I have taken a few home to see if I can cultivate them.
For more information on cycads, please click on this
link.
The pods of this particular species are low on the ground and surrounded by leaves.
It gets to be a tall pod and at the bottom of each seed are what look like spores. Maybe someone knows and can tell me what they actually are.
At first I thought they might be bug eggs but I watched them carefully and never saw anything crawling on them.
The summer progressed and the pods became dry and eventaully died off. I have taken a few home to see if I can cultivate them.
30 comments:
I just love cycads, not too many of them around here!
Looking forward to you site S.A. Insects filling up and the identifications. There must be quite a lot similar here. Diane
Beautiful pictures and interesting post.
They are among the oldest existing plants.
Those pods are very cool looking. Would be great in a dried arrangement.
The insect site is looking Great! Lots of hard work that will soon begin to pay off in interest. Nice job Joan!
I love these plants and the close-ups are fantastic! I've seen amazing species at the Kirstenbosh Gardens in Cape Town.
P.S. By the way, Joan, I work in advertisement, nothing to do with travelling, cactus or fish tanks, these are just hobbies... :-)
Joan: What cool captures of a neat plant.
I am amazed that you can take such close-ups. Two days ago we visited a lovely garden. As I was taking a picture of a hydrangea a dragonfly came on a branch. It did not move so I tried to take its picture with my Nikon D40, it was blurry, so I moved to my Sony, no good, then the little Olympus, still fuzzy. I could never get a picture close enough.
I think it is too cold for them there Diane as they like tropical or sub-tropical climates.
Thanks, I am still hard at work on the site and now am waiting to get the discs back on the identification then I can do a final sort of the pictures. You are right, there are many bugs which are similar around the world and this site will help you too.
I have been lucky in that Bugguide is also willing to put a link on theirs to my page.
They are Andrea and are found in such a wonderful variety.
They would make a lovely dry arrangement Gaelyn. Thanks, I think all my hard work is going to pay off into something really big but I still have to see where it goes.
Thanks Jose. They do have some great species there and in Kwa-Zulu Natal too.
Thanks Tom. This one was so different in that it does not have a stem.
Thanks Vagebonde. Not all cameras can take such nice close-ups. The first camera I bought was really useless at it too. Then, you have to have a very steady hand when they are set on macro as just the slightest movement makes it blur.
Jose: Thanks for the info. I have always wondered about it. :)
The close up's are stunning Joan love the colours your bug site is perfect :))
Thanks Philip. Hopefully I will be able to complete the website in the next couple of weeks and name everything as well as taking out the duplicates. :) Still lots f work ahead.
I have never seen anything like this Joan, how fascinating!
They look a bit like our pine (or spruce) cones but they grow up in the trees, not down on the ground.
There you go, teachin' us stuff again. ;o) Thank you!
You are welcome Krista. Nature has so much of interest. :)
What interesting plants those cycads are. Very colorful and decorative looking! Whatever those things are on them, it just adds to the look. YOur photos are great!
I planted a cycad in my garden a little while ago and can't wait for it to start making pods. But that will be a while as its still very small. There is a farmer in the Gamtoos Valley who has a particular love for cycads and grow them around his house. He has perfected the art of cultivating them.
Thanks Mary. I still do not know what they are but maybe one day I will find out.
They are not easy to grow Jonker and I wish I knew more about them. Someone gave me two seeds of another type of cycad and I am hoping they will shoot out as it is a special plant. They are very slow growing and these are about 1.5 metres high and have been there for about 20 years.
I like that you thought to examine the parts underneath and included those pics. Very interesting!
Wow, I love these. So pretty. Love the colors, and very interesting.
B.
Thanks Craver. You know me by now, one of those "leave no stone unturned" kinds or in this case "no leaf" LOL!!
Thanks Becky.
Well Joan there is something new I never seen. Excellent stuff. Anna :)
You are welcome Anna. We have such wonderful weather here that everything grows which I know cannot be found in the colder parts of the world.
I love the detail in the macro Joan...
Thanks Michelle. It did come out nice.
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