What insect pollinates cycads?

What insect pollinates cycads?

beetles
Modern cycads are principally pollinated by beetles, and rarely by thrips or moths [3]. Their beetle pollinators mainly include cucujoids (Biphyllidae, Boganiidae, Erotylidae, and Nitidulidae), weevils (Anthribidae, Belidae, Brentidae, and Curculionidae), and, unusually, tenebrionids [3].

Are cycads pollinated by insects?

Cycads are dioecious gymnosperms, and most, if not all, share obligate mutualisms with specialist insect pollinators such as beetles (Coleoptera) and thrips (Thysanop- tera) [3].

Do gymnosperms need insects?

Within modern gymnosperms, conifers and Ginkgo are exclusively wind pollinated whereas many gnetaleans and cycads are insect pollinated. For cycads, thrips are specialized pollinators.

Are gymnosperms pollinated by insects?

Unlike modern wind-pollinated conifers and Ginkgo, cycads are unusual in that they are an ancient group of gymnosperms pollinated by insects, such as beetles and rarely thrips. The species are also specialist pollinators of the same clade of modern cycads.

Why do cycads have flagellated sperm?

Then a sperm cell of the pollen grain swims through the pollen tube using its whip-like tail, or flagella, and fertilizes the egg to form a zygote. It is significant that the cycads have flagellated sperm cells, which is considered a primitive (i.e., ancient) characteristic.

Are gymnosperms Embryophytes?

Living embryophytes therefore include hornworts, liverworts, mosses, lycophytes, ferns, gymnosperms and flowering plants. The Embryophyta are informally called land plants because they live primarily in terrestrial habitats, while the related green algae are primarily aquatic.

How do gymnosperms reproduce?

gymnosperm, any vascular plant that reproduces by means of an exposed seed, or ovule—unlike angiosperms, or flowering plants, whose seeds are enclosed by mature ovaries, or fruits. The seeds of many gymnosperms (literally “naked seeds”) are borne in cones and are not visible until maturity.

Why are cycads so valued?

Because of their rarity and attractiveness as garden elements, cycads have great commercial value, particularly for “bragging rights”. So cycad poaching is big business. In January 2008, 103 extremely rare cycads valued at some R10m were stolen from the Lilly Cycad Reserve inside the Selati nature reserve in Limpopo.

What is the lifespan of a cycad?

Cycads vary in size from having trunks only a few centimeters to several meters tall. They typically grow very slowly and live very long, with some specimens known to be as much as 1,000 years old.

Where does the gymnosperm get its name from?

The origin of the term gymnosperm is greek. Gymnos, meaning “naked” and sperma being “seed” connects the etymology of the word directly to its specific style of seed production – unenclosed and exposed for pollination. The seed of a gymnosperm develops on the surface of leaves or scales and are often modified into cones.

What kind of uses can gymnosperms be used for?

Gymnosperms have major economic uses. Pine, fir, spruce, and cedar are all examples of conifers that are used for lumber, paper production, and resin. Some other common uses for gymnosperms are soap, varnish, nail polish, food, gum, and perfumes.

How are gymnosperms and angiosperms related to each other?

Gymnosperm seeds develop either on the surface of scales or leaves, which are often modified to form cones, or solitary as in Yew, Torreya, Ginkgo. The gymnosperms and angiosperms together compose the spermatophytes or seed plants. The gymnosperms are divided into six phyla.

How are the seeds of a gymnosperm fertilized?

The seeds of a gymnosperm are open to the air and are directly fertilized by pollination. Another term for gymnosperm, though less frequently used, is acrogymnospermae. It’s a big word for plants you are most likely already familiar with, including conifers, ginkgo, cycads, gnetophytes. The origin of the term gymnosperm is greek.