Saga of Distribution and Conservation of Cycas, “A Living Fossil”
Author(s): Suresh Kumar, Utkarsha Gupta, Neeta Kushwaha, Manju Srivastava & Sarita Srivastava
Abstract: Cycas, the sole extant genus of Cycadaceae, represents one of the world’s most evolutionarily significant plant lineages, and is among the most threatened. Using a comprehensive global dataset synthesizing species distributions, threat categories, and regional pressures, this study evaluated worldwide and Indian patterns of diversity and vulnerability. The results revealed strong biogeographic structuring, with Australia, China, Vietnam, India, and the Philippines forming the principal centres of species richness. However, these same regions also display the highest concentrations of threatened taxa, with nearly two-thirds of all species falling into the Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable categories. Threat incidence is strongly associated with rapid land-use change, illegal horticultural harvest, restricted range, and the inherently slow life-history traits of cycads. Indian species, several of which occupy basal phylogenetic positions, exhibit acute vulnerability driven by mining, habitat conversion, demographic aging, and limited regeneration. Island taxa in the Pacific and Andaman–Nicobar regions face additional risks linked to small population sizes and micro endemicism. The global synthesis highlights the convergence of evolutionary significance and contemporary threat, indicating that regions with the greatest phylogenetic value are also those undergoing the most rapid ecological degradation. These findings underscore the urgent need for habitat-level protection, long-term demographic monitoring, and ex-situ conservation programs targeting genetically and evolutionarily distinct lineages. The integrated global–Indian dataset presented here provides a critical foundation for future taxonomic, biogeographic, and conservation planning of this ancient and rapidly declining genus.
Keywords: Cycas, Biodiversity and Biogeography, Threatened Plant Species, Conservation Biology, Phylogenetic Significance
DOI: doi.org/10.65719/RC.3.2.2025.126
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