Cycas calcicola

Maconochie 1978

Common names

Walangkirrik [Malakmalak]; turtur [Matngala]; yerrsya [Ngan'gikurunggurr and Ngan'giwumirri]; ngewerrin [Wardaman] (Bonta and Osborne 2005).

Taxonomic notes

Type locality north of Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia (Jones 1993).

Description

Distribution and Ecology

Australia: Northern Territory, a few disjunct localities. Habitat is sparse woodland on sandstone or limestone, where the water table is near the surface. Rainfall 750 mm with a summer maximum. Summer diurnal temperatures are 25/38°C; winter, 15/30°C (Jones 1993).

Remarkable Specimens

Specimens have been recorded with a trunk to 3 m tall and 30 cm diameter (Jones 1993).

Ethnobotany

Observations

Remarks

Status: Threatened. Lives in areas subject to high-frequency wildfire, after which flushed of conspicuous silvery or bluish grey leaves come forth. A popular ornamental for planting in areas with climate close to its native habitat (Jones 1993).

Citations

Bonta, Mark and Roy Osborne. 2005. Cycads in the vernacular, a compendium of local names. http://www.cycad.org/documents/Bonta-Osborne-Cycads-Vernacular.pdf, accessed 2017.12.29.

See also