Figure

The palm-like Hope’s Cycad (Lepidozamia hopei) in a stream bed during the dry season (with detail of the root). This cycad, which is only found in the northern Wet Tropics, is the tallest of all the living cycads. It can grow up to 20 m, albeit plants of this height are rarely, if ever, seen today. Hope’s Cycad has an ancient association with the Southern Cassowary as the bird plays a significant role it the dispersal of its seeds. The only other species in this genus is the Pineapple Zamia (Lepidozamia peroffskyana), which is found along the northern New South Wales coastline, extending to the Queensland Sunshine Coast (Caloundra).