Not Palm Leaves in Jelks Preserve
February 17, 2018
My botanist husband said no when I asked if these were palm leaves. No, he said patiently, these are cycad leaves. So I Googled to see if cycads and palms are closely related. No dice. But at least I’m not way off base in thinking they may be. Here’s the sentence from Wikipedia’s Cycad page that felt forgiving: “Because of their superficial resemblance, they are sometimes mistaken for palms or ferns, but they are not closely related to either group.”
Romancing Reality 
Beautiful in black and white, Linda! The detail, the sheen…really nice. And a fun read. I love cycads – I know, I say that about so many plants. They’re cool though. I have a sad one on the deck that soldiers through winters here. It looks beat up and doesn’t seem to grow, rather it always appears to be in a state of suspended animation. 🙂 But I think they’re very slow growing, and they may be slow to die as well. 🙂
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February 17, 2018 at 3:10 PM
Thanks, Lynn. The color version has that green and tan combination that I just don’t like, so black and white it had to be. I cycled through the Silver Efex options a few times to find the one I liked best, and then still tweaked it a bit back in Lightroom. But it was a lovely plant to begin with. Husband David says cycads don’t grow in Ohio at all, so I envy you yours. I think the first ones I ever saw were in a University of Michigan greenhouse. That greenhouse is where I first saw many of the tropical plants, including bananas. I loved to go there in February. May your cycad keep holding on.
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February 17, 2018 at 3:50 PM
Yes, February in the greenhouse, that’s the place to be…we stopped by a very small one last week and I’ve been thinking lately of going to the one in Seattle….can’t remember if they have a cycad but I bet they do. And seriously, I think mine may not be very alive. It’s in a pot, on the deck, and it’s freezing at night. I should bring it in. You could get one as a house plant…and speaking of SEP, I just noticed a book in the library when perusing the photography section, about all the NIK software. There’s so much more to it than I knew. Have a good week!
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February 19, 2018 at 3:08 PM
I’d say there’s a good chance that the Volunteer Park Conservatory has a cycad, maybe more than one. Their website says they have “a vast variety of tropical and subtropical plant life in [their] five display houses, including palms, bromeliads, ferns, orchids, cactus, and seasonal plants.” If I had a pet cycad, I’d have to bring it back and forth between Ohio and Florida. I think I’ll just enjoy the ones in Florida. Not sure I’m ready to learn about even more that I can do to my photographs. I really need to cut down on the time I spend, but I’m not sure that’s in the cards, either. 😉
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February 19, 2018 at 5:37 PM