Cycad Literature Database

The Western Ghats of India has been identified as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots and a major center of endemism. Linnaeus established the genus Cycas and its type species C. circinalis based on the illustrations of Van Rheede’s Todda Panna. Rheede’s locality of Todda Panna falls within the limits of the Western Ghats. We extensively explored all the existing populations of Cycas in the southern Western Ghats during 2001–2004 and identified several morphological, anatomical, reproductive, and cytological distinctions within the populations of these areas. Consequently, we identified and described a new species, Cycas annaikalensis R. Singh & P. Radha, from the Palaghat Range. This chapter describes the characteristic features of C. circinalis L., its distribution, and its comparison with C. annaikalensis as described from the Malabar Coast. An attempt has been made to discuss the specific limitations of C. circinalis to resolve issues in the taxonomy of Indian Cycas.