cycad

noun

cy·​cad ˈsī-kəd 

: any of an order (Cycadales) of dioecious cycadophytes that flourished especially during the Jurassic and are represented by four surviving families of palmlike tropical plants

Did you know?

A cycad is a tropical palmlike evergreen plant. Cycads flourished especially during the Jurassic and are represented by four surviving families. Cycads have crowns of large, feathery compound leaves and cones at the ends of their branches. Some have tall, unbranched trunks; others have partially buried stems with swollen trunks. Slow-growing cycads are used as ornamental conservatory plants, but some survive outdoors in temperate regions. The stems of some cycads yield starch that is edible if thoroughly cooked. The young leaves and seeds of others also are edible.

Examples of cycad in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the Triassic, however, forests only consisted of conifers and cycads; flowers didn’t even exist yet. —Jenny Lehmann, Discover Magazine, 5 June 2025

Today, every living Wood’s cycad is a clone of that original male. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025

Grass hadn’t even taken off when non-bird dinosaurs were around — herbivores mostly would have eaten ferns, conifers, and cycads. —Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 8 Apr. 2025

Check sagos for white cycad scale and control as needed. 47. —Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin Cycad-, Cycas, genus name, from Greek kykas, manuscript variant of koïkas, accusative plural of koïx, a kind of palm

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cycad

noun

cy·​cad ˈsī-kəd 

: a tropical palmlike evergreen plant that is a gymnosperm