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{{Short description|Species of cycad}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
| image =Cycas beddomei 03.jpg
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref>{{Cite journal | author = Rao, B.R.P. | title = ''Cycas beddomei'' | journal = [[The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]] | volume = 2010 | page = e.T42036A10634328 | publisher = [[IUCN]] | date = 2010 | url = http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/42036/0 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T42036A10634328.en | access-date = 14 January 2018}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A1
| status2_system = CITES
| status2_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}</ref>
| genus = Cycas
| species = beddomei
| authority = [[William Turner Thiselton-Dyer|Dyer]]
}}

'''''Cycas beddomei''''' is a species of [[cycad]] in the genus ''[[Cycas]]'', native to [[India]], where it is confined to a small area of [[Andhra Pradesh]] state in the [[Tirumala Hills]] in [[Deccan thorn scrub forests|scrubland and brush covered hills]].

Superficially similar to ''[[Cycas revoluta]]'', it has erect, solitary stems. There are 20-30 [[leaf|leaves]] in the crown, each leaf 90 cm long, stiff, lanceolate, pinnate, with 50-100 pairs of leaflets, these 10–17.5 cm long and 3–4 mm wide, and angled forward at 45 degrees; the leaf petiole bears minute spines.

The female [[strobilus|cones]] are open, with [[sporophyll]]s 15–20 cm long, with pink-brown coloured tomentose down, with two ovules. The cones emerge in November to December, ripening in March to May. The [[Leaf|lamina]] margin is strongly toothed, with an acuminate point. The [[sarcotesta]] is yellow to brown. The male cones are solitary, ovoid, 30 cm long and 7.5 cm broad, with an apical spine and rhomboid sporophyll face.

The species is unusual in that it contains a layer of fleshy material between the [[sarcotesta]] and the [[sclerotesta]] that is thought to aid the seed by providing it with a source of water. As cycad seeds have no dormancy, this would be an important trait in its arid habitat.

It is named after the botanist [[Richard Henry Beddome]].

==Habitat==
This cycad is found in dry, hot sites in the [[Deccan thorn scrub forests|scrublands]] of eastern India. Clumps of the plant are common via pups only in males. The plant is fairly fire resistant, except as seeds and seedlings, which are very vulnerable to annual grass fires.

== Chemistry ==
The biflavonoids [[2",3"-dihydrohinokiflavone]], [[2,3,2",3"-tetrahydrohinokiflavone]], [[2,3-dihydroamentoflavone]], [[2,3,2",3"-tetrahydroamentoflavone]], [[2,3-dihydro-4"'-0-methyl-amentoflavone]], and [[pinoresinol]] can be isolated from ''C. beddomei''.<ref>A new biflavonoid from Cycas beddomeit. Bishwanath Das, Gurram Mahender, Yerra Koteswara Rao and Ponnaboina Thirupathi, Indian Journal of Chemistry, August 2006, Vol. 45B, pages 1933-1935 ([http://203.199.182.84:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/667/1/80.pdf article]{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }})</ref>

== Uses ==
The male cones of the plant are used in [[Ayurveda|Ayurvedic medicine]] as a cure for [[rheumatoid arthritis]] and muscle pains. This cycad, due to its demand for medicinal purposes, and consequent reduction in living populations, is now an [[endangered species]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/cycadpg?taxname=Cycas+beddomei Cycad Pages: ''Cycas beddomei'']
*Rita Singh & Khuraijam Jibankumar Singh (2013-) Cycads of India. http://www.cycadsofindia.in/

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1054770}}

{{Tirupati topics}}

[[Category:Cycas|beddomei]]
[[Category:Flora of Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Endangered plants]]

Cycas beddomei - Revision history

WikiDwarf at 13:14, 27 May 2023