''Lepidozamia'' is a genus of two species of

cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...

, both endemic to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> They are native to

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

climates in eastern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and eastern

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. They have a

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...

chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...

number of 2n = 18.

Etymology

The name is derived from the Greek word ''lepis'' (λεπίς) meaning scale, which refers to the scale-like structure of the stem and leaf bases.

Species

A specimen of ''L. hopei'' is known as the tallest living cycad at 17.5 m tall. These cycads are generally unbranched, tall, and with persistent leaf bases. They are easily cultivated as ornamental plants and are relatively cold hardy; ''L. peroffskyana'' was first described by a specimen grown at

Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden The main Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden, officially known as the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Komarov Botanical Institute's Botanical Garden of Peter the Great (); since 1823 Emperor's Botanical Garden "Императорский Б ...

in 1857.

References

The Cycad Pages: ''Lepidozamia''
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q144423 Endemic flora of Australia Cycadophyta of Australia