About Lepidozamia hopei Regel
Lepidozamia hopei Regel, commonly known as Hope's cycad, is a tree cycad that grows up to 20 m (66 ft) high, with a trunk diameter reaching 50 cm (20 in). It typically has one single trunk and one single crown, though forked trunks sometimes occur. Its fronds can grow up to 3 m (9.8 ft) long, and each frond can hold as many as 200 leaflets. The leaflets are dark green, fairly stiff, and reach up to 40 cm (16 in) long and 3 cm (1.2 in) wide. This species produces very large cones: male cones measure up to 40 cm (16 in) tall and 14 cm (5.5 in) in diameter, while female cones reach up to 60 cm (24 in) tall and 30 cm (12 in) in diameter. When mature, its seeds measure around 5 cm (2.0 in) long and 4 cm (1.6 in) wide, and are covered by a bright red sarcotesta. It is reputed to be the tallest known cycad species; it towers over other understorey vegetation, but rarely grows into the forest canopy. Lepidozamia hopei is native to a small area of northeast Queensland, Australia, ranging from the region around the Bloomfield River in the north to lowlands just south of Tully in the south. It grows in rainforest and adjacent forests at altitudes from near sea level up to around 600 m (2,000 ft). In its ecosystem, cassowaries eat the seeds of Lepidozamia hopei, and native rodents eat the fleshy seed coat of the seeds.
