Cycads are seed plants characterized by a large crown of compound leaves and a stout trunk. They are evergreen, dioecious plants having large pinnately compound leaves. They are frequently confused with and mistaken for palms or ferns, but are only distantly related to both, and instead belong to the division Cycadophyta.

Cycads are found across much of the subtropical and tropical parts of the world.
They are able to grow in full sun or shade. Though they are a minor component of the plant kingdom today, during the Jurassic period they were extremely common.