Even though cycads and palms resemble each other outwardly, the palms are members of a different family and phylum – Arecaceae family in the Phylum Anthophyta. Cycadophyta is one of the 4 phyla of the gymnosperms, belonging to the kingdom Plantae.

The differentiating factor between cycads and palms is that the palms are flowering plants or angiosperms, while the cycads are non-flowering plants (gymnosperms).

Cycads

• Cycads are seed plants having a woody and stout trunk with a crown of pinnate leaves that are stiff, hard and large
• These dioecious species are either females or males and usually grow very slow
• Due to their superficial resemblance, it is at times mistaken for ferns or palms
• These are gymnosperms having enclosed seeds with a complex arrangement of fertilization
• They have special pollinators, and both female and male cycads have cones similar to that of conifer cones
• Reportedly, these fix nitrogen in an association with different cyanobacteria found in the roots

Palms

• These are the fourth-largest groups of monocots
• These are amongst the plant families that are best known and cultivated extensively
• These have evergreen leaves that are large and are either pinnately or palmately compound and are spirally arranged at the top of the stem
• Leaves have a tubular sheath at the base, which typically divides open on one side once they reach maturity
• The inflorescence is a spike or spadix girdled by one or multiple bracts, which at maturity become woody
• Fruits are typically single-seeded drupes, while some genera have two or more seeds in each of the fruit

Key Difference between Cycads and Palms

The table below depicts the difference between Cycads and Palms.

You read some differences between Cycads and Palms.

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