Cycad

cycad, (order Cycadales), any of the palmlike woody gymnospermous plants that constitute the order Cycadales. The order consists of three extant (not extinct) families—Cycadaceae, Stangeriaceae, and Zamiaceae—which contain 10–11 genera and about 310 species. Some authorities use the term cycad to refer to all members of the division Cycadophyta. Plants of this division are known to have existed in the Mesozoic Era (251.9 million to 66 million years ago).