Palms and Cycads

Palms are often referred to as trees, but they are actually classified as monocots, or grass-like plants.  Despite not technically defined as trees, most palms generally perform similar roles as a tree.  Palms are diverse and adaptive in their reproduction with all producing flowers, and their seeds are contained in a fruit, so they are classified as angiosperms.

Cycads are typically called palms, but are in fact only a distant relative of the palm family and are slightly more closely related to ferns. Cycads are dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female plants, that produce  seeds in a cone. Seeds in the cone take about a year to mature.  Cycads can also reproduce through vegetative reproduction via bulbils that form along the stems. a

Cycads predate the dinosaurs and most are classified as endangered at present.

The while distinctly different, palms and cycads are are often grouped together due to an general similarity in appearance.