ABSTRACT
Before going to Florida, I had seen cycads (from kykas, a palm, Greek) growing in greenhouses at the Missouri Botanical Garden where I did my graduate work. These ancient conifer relatives have been called living fossils, and they were widespread and pervasive throughout the Mesozoic, 250-265 million years ago (Schneider et al. 2002). Partly because of that, I was anxious to see them in the wilds of southern Florida. In the Everglades National Park, I found coontie (Zamia integrifolia) in the pinelands. They were not very impressive, but they did look a little like palms.
