This morning I put my new planter together. I've had some of the plants for a long time, some I propagated myself, and other were purposefully collected over the last little while.

#planters #houseplants #bromeliads #nepenthes #sundew #ferns #sagopalm #cycad #tillandsia #epiphytes #polkadotbegonia

One of my favourite houseplants is this Sago palm. Except it isn't a palm, but a cycad (Cycas revulata). One of the few common, non-endagered cycads, it is a native of Southern Japan.

The cycads are a fascinating group - with origins going back to the early Permian (possibly even the Carboniferous), they have survived 3 mass extinction events, including the massive late Permian event, as well as the dinosaur-killing Jurassic event, and the event at the end of the Cretaceous.

Now they are truly endangered again - through climate change, but especially because of human greed. Driven to near-extinction because of poaching. With the exception of a few species, like the sago palm, they are all protected and are not destined for the houseplant market.

#cycads #Permian #Jurassic #massextinction #poaching #sagopalm #Japaneseflora #climatechange #conservation #houseplants #carboniferous #cretaceous