Cycads (aka Japanese Sago Palm) Reproduce In UK For First Time In 60 Million Years
A tropical plant has produced male and female cones outdoors in the UK for the first time in 60 million years, in an event that botanists say is a clear indication of climate change. Two cycads (cycas revoluta), a type of primitive plant that dominated the Earth's flora 280 million years ago, have produced cones on the cliffs of a botanic garden on the Isle of Wight, off England's south coast.
"This can be seen as further evidence from the plant kingdom of climate change in action. Certainly this sort of plant could formerly not be considered hardy in the UK; the recent heatwave has contributed to the individual cone growth," Ventnor Botanic Garden said in a statement. Native to southern Japan and the Ryukyu Islands, cycads -- also known as Japanese sago palm -- are only found on steep limestone cliffs and are native to warmer parts of the world.
Because of the Isle of Wight's microclimate and the sheltered location of the garden, plants can be grown at Ventnor which would not usually survive in the British Isles. A spokeswoman from the Ventnor Botanic Garden told CNN that the island is on average 5 degrees Celsius warmer than the rest of mainland Britain.
"Fifteen, 20 years ago we started growing cycads -- it started as an experiment, something you wouldn't normally do," Chris Kidd, curator at Ventnor Botanic Garden, told CNN. "Fifteen years on, they're not only surviving winters, growing and producing leaves. Five years ago we had a male cycad that produced a cone, and this year we have a male and female both producing cones," he said.
EDIT
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/22/uk/tropical-plant-uk-intl-scli-gbr/
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