One of the many reasons why I love living in the future, and why I love the proper use of the Interweb in horticulture, is that I'm constantly being surprised. For instance, aside from the occasional sago palm growing along someone's driveway in the richer part of town, Dallas isn't exactly known for being a friendly habitat for cycads. We're a bit too rainy and the soil too full of clay for extensive amounts of cactus, but we're also too dry and windy for cycads. This means that while I'm fascinated with them, I don't necessarily have the ability to study them firsthand except in arboretum collections.

Anyway, docbrite asked me yesterday about whether or not a cycad seed she'd found was going to sprout, and I realized that while I knew plenty about cycad foliage and the potential dangers of eating same, I really knew absolutely nothing about the processes by which cycads reproduced. Ergo, a bit of research, and someone else more knowledgeable than I has her answer. Even better, now that I know, I can try this myself once I have the room to try more experiments. Ms. Brite, you are going to share pictures when your new cycad sprouts, right?