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BLUE CYCADS
by Phil & Jesse Bergman

Description of Article

ARTICLE DISCUSSING VARIOUS TYPES OF BLUE CYCADS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Introduction

Having been in the business of growing and selling cycads for over thirty five years, I can say that there's just something about a cycad with blue leaves that attracts and mystifies garden enthusiasts and collectors. Blue cycads are the number one cycad sought out by enthusiasts and, as a group, are our best selling cycad plants. This article will show you an assortment of cycads with blue or silver leaves, explain how the plants get this blue color and perhaps give you an idea as to why they are so popular.

THE COLOR BLUE

Among the amazing group of plants known as cycads, there are many species among several genera which have what we'd call "blue" leaves. But, I must first define what enthusiasts refer to as "blue", as most will consider everything from a traditional blue through silver as being a blue plant. To one not familiar with cycads, you might anticipate that "blue" would mean to color of the sky or the ocean. But, among plant people, this is not the case. "Blue" is given a much wider spectrum of colors from silver to the classic blue. In fact, leaves that are almost white would still be considered "blue". The first picture below shows a color that one might find similar to the color of a blue sky. The second plant is almost silver in color. The third is a blue-green. The last photo below shows a green leaf with a frosty blue coating. To a cycad enthusiast, all of these are "blue". So, you can see that "blue" is a loosely used term that includes the spectrum from blue green through a more traditional blue and into the silver color range.

More of a traditional blue

More of a silver color

Blue-Green in color

A green cycad with a frosty blue
coating on the leaflets.

It would probably be more simple if cycad collectors gave a more descriptive name to the color, but all of these are grouped together as 'blue cycads". So, keep this in mind as you read further through this article.

WHAT MAKES CYCAD LEAVES/LEAFLETS BLUE

Mother Nature gave plants the compound named chlorophyll. This is a green pigment that helps the plants photosynthesize. Because of chlorophyll, the color of leaves
is alomost always green. However, some plants live in very dry or hot environments. They can lose water through their leaves and desiccate. As a protective mechanism
to prevent desiccation, some plant species will produce a waxy compound that coats the leaves. This compound will be a thin layer on the outer layer of the leaf surface
and gives the leaf a blue color. It serves to prevent the loss of moisture. The more of this compound that is produced the more "blue" the leaf. The first four photos below
show various close-up shots of blue leaves with their waxy coatings. As it is merely coating the leaflets, it can be rubbed off with the finger or with heavy rain. The last
photos below show how one can rub off the blue color.

Leaflets coated with blue wax	Note spotty areas were the blue wax has worn off leaving green spots	Outdoors, almost all leaves have a good coating of blue wax
E. princeps - These leaves are traditionally blue

Encephalartos horridus showing blue wax	Note on central leaflet how the blue wax rubbed off, with less blue	same, wax rubbed off in this photo
blue wax on end of thumb, faintly visible

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WEATHER EFFECTS ON THE BLUE COLOR

As described above, the blue wax is produced by cycads is to prevent desiccation. The threat of desiccation is more prevalent in hot and arid environments. Thus, one might anticipate that the hotter and drier the growing environment, the more the plant would produce this wax. This is true and exactly what is seen. In more demanding interior locations, plants tend to be a more intense blue color because of the amount of wax produced. In fact, such plants take on much more of a silver color as the wax is actually white. Along the coast you might see more of a blue-green color because of coastal humidity. Also, inside of a greenhouse the ambient humidity is also high. Thus, one sees a less intense blue on greenhouse grown plants. In fact, sometimes "blue plants" are more green than blue in a humid greenhouse. In this location, cycads are not too concerned about moisture loss. But, along these same lines, this means enthusiasts who live in very humid localities such as South Florida or Hawaii might find it more difficult to produce blue leaves like one would see in more desert environments.

Silver colored E. arenarius grown in
far inland location

Intensely blue E. horridus inland

Greenhouse grown E. princeps showing
green leaves

Same thing with E. lehmannii grown inside

I must point out that a blue cycad species will produce blue leaves when throwing a new flush of leaves. If you consider why this happens, you come to realize that the plant doesn't know for sure what the new leaves will see. Such a plant prepares for the most stressful environment. So, almost always, new leaves emerge blue even in the greenhouse. Think of it as if the new leaves have on their "waxy overcoats" just in case it's hot and dry. If the plant finds the humidity is high, this blue powder production is ceased and existing powder may wash away in time giving more green leaves. Sometimes these newly emerging leaves are so blue that they show a purple or sometimes blue-red color as shown below..

All four photos below are the first flush on newly rooted out offsets of Encephalartos horridus. Note how the first two show the purple color, the third plant is quite blue even though it's in the greenhouse. And, the last flush is a silver-brown color. These purple or brown flushes turn blue over about a one month period.

CYCADS WITH BLUE COLORED LEAVES

ENCEPHALARTOS

All Encephalartos are native to Africa. Among this genus there are a dozen or more species that would be considered to be blue plants. There are more blue cycads in the genus Encephalartos than in any other cycad genus. Without spending the time here to give descriptions of the actual species, I will rather show an assortment of these blue cycads. These include plants from the nursery, private and public gardens and habitat.

E. horridus nursery plant	Encephalartos horridus nursery plant	Encephalartos horridus in garden
Encephalartos trispinosus at the nursery	Encephalartos trispinosus at the nursery	Encephalartos trispinosus in a garden
Encephalartos lehmannii at nursery	Encephalartos lehmannii at nursery	Encephalartos lehmannii in garden
Encephalartos princeps at nursery	small Encephalartos princeps in garden	Encephalartos princeps in garden
Encephalartos lanatus at nursery	Encephalartos lanatus in South Africa	somewhat blue Encephalartos fridirici-guilielmii
Encephalartos eugene-maraisii at nursery	Encephalartos eugene-maraisii at botanical garden	Encephalartos eugene-maraisii
Encephalartos middleburgensis at nursery	Encephalartos middleburgensis in garden	Encephalartos dyerianus at nursery
Encephalartos dyerianus in garden	Encephalartos cupidus at nursery	Encephalartos cupidus in garden
Encephalartos dolomiticus at nursery	Encephalartos dolomiticus	Encephalartos dolomiticus at nursery
Encephalartos dolomiticus in garden	Encephalartos hirsuitus FLIKR unknown phtographer	Encephalartos hirsuitus P. Heibloem PACSOA

CYCAS

Cycas is a genus of cycads from Asia and Australia. In Australia, particularly in the Northern Territory, there are Cycas species that have a blue color to their leaflets. I've found these plants to be fairly difficult to grow here in California. They seem to do better in hotter, more arid conditions than we have in coastal Southern California. Below are some photos of blue Cycas species you may come across or read about.

Cycas angulata	Cycas angulata in garden	Cycas calcicola
Cycas calcicola in garden	Cycas couttsiana in garden	Cycas couttsiana
Cycas pruinosa by G. Beaumont PACSOA	Cycas panzhihuaensis with a hint o blue in some plants	Cycas panzhihuaensis in garden in FL

DIOON

The genus of Dioon are native to Mexico and parts of northern Central America. Almost all species are green. But, some species of Dioon sonorense have blue leaves. There are also hints of blue or a blue frosty
coat to a few others as shown below.

Dioon sonorense in garden	Dioon sonorense	Dioon sonorense in private garden
Dioon edule with blue color at nursery	Dioon edule with blue color	Dioon merolae at nursery with a white frost
Dioon merolae private garden	Dioon merolae leaf detail; note white frost	Dioon caputoi in the wild with a hint of blue

MACROZAMIA

Macrozamia are all from Australia. There are several blue colored species. The most famous are M. macdonnellii and glaucophylla. Several others take on a blue color to the leaves. Most of these are full sun species that like arid conditions. I've even seen a fairly blue large Macrozamia moorei.

Macrozamia glaucophylla PACSOA by Thompson and Kennedy	Macrozamia glaucophylla PACSOA by Thompson and Kennedy	Macrozamia macdonnelii at a botanical garden
Macrozamia macdonnelii	Macrozamia macdonnelii unknown contributor	Macrozamia secunda PACSOA by Thrompson & Kennedy
Macrozamia stenomera PACSOA by Thompson & Kennedy, although green here, can take on blue color	Macrozamia macdonnellii by Gary Beaumont PACSOA, habitat photo

ZAMIA, CERATOZAMIA, STANGERIA, LEPIDOZAMIA AND OTHER GENERA

The genera listed above do not really have any "blue" species. Ceratozamia miquelliana and whitelockiana throw newly emergent blue leaves, but these slowly turn green over time. Zamia and Ceratozamia throw newly emergent red or brown colored leaves but these also revert to green. Stangeria and Lepidozamia are always green except for perhaps a hint of color to newly emerging leaves occasionally with Stangeria.

CONCLUSION

Blue cycads are highly sought after and have never lost their popularity. The blue color of the leaves is from a protective waxy coat. This coat prevents desiccation of the plant and is from a naturally forming wax put out by the leaves. This wax can rub off. Plants display more blue color and can even get silver in more arid environments. Greenhouse grown plants may be less blue but get more blue on being moved outdoors into direct sun. On blue species, new leaves almost always emerge blue in anticipation of dry, arid weather. The genus Encephalartos has the most blue species with well over a dozen described. Some genera of cycads do not have blue species.

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Three photos above are Encephalartos horridus

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BLUE CYCADS by Phil & Jesse Bergman

BLUE CYCADS
by Phil & Jesse Bergman