For this Steemit photo challenge, my first entry is the first photo of this post which shows a close-up of the golden female flower of the Sago Cycad (aka Cycas revoluta, sago palm, king sago, Japanese sago palm).

A rather strange and quite toxic plant that's technically not a palm

We saw a male/female pairing of this bizarre plant while at the Southport Ferry Terminal last November on a trip to North Carolina. I asked a few of the workers if they knew what it was, but nobody did. The toll taker just mentioned that we shouldn't touch it because he heard it might be toxic and will make your hands smell really bad.

Later research revealed that it's called a Cycas Revoluta. The Latin word revoluta refers to the curved-back characteristic of the leaves of this plant. It's one of the most primative seed bearing plants known and is actually related to cone-bearing trees like conifers and ginko trees.

The plants we saw were about 4 feet high. However, they can grow main trunks that are up to about 20 feet tall but, being a very slow growing plant, this could take from 50 to 100 years.

The subsequent images in this post are presented to provide some context for this discussion.

This nice writeup by Lynn McKamey provids some good information about cultivating and caring for a sago palm. Athough, according to Wikipedia, it's not a true palm.

• Cycas revoluta - "Sago Palms" How to grow them from seed - By Lynn McKamey

It takes two sago cycads to tango

Like many other plants, the cycas revoluta requires both a male and a female plant to create the seeds needed to preserve the species. In the late spring, the male plant grows its large cone that will eventually be covered in powdery pollen. Likewise, the female plant grows its elaborate flower that will be fertilized by the male's pollen spores and serve as the sanctuary for the many seeds to be formed.

The female's flower opens in late spring when it is fertile and ready to accept the pollen. It then closes after pollenation and supports the growth of its seeds during the summer months. Eventually, the seeds reach walnut size and turn from bright yellow to a pinkish-orange color in the fall when they are ready to be harvested.

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A close-up of the flower of the female sago cycad plant with many pink/orange seeds, which indicates that pollination did indeed occur.

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Peering inside a male sago cycad plant shows its pine-cone shaped reproductive organ. This cone can grow close to two feet in length. And sometimes a male plant will grow multiple cones.

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A view inside a female sago cycad showing its golden flower which, by November, is well along with its seed production.

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A close-up of the male's reproducticve cone which is covered in powdery pollen.

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Another view of the female's golden flower which contains dozens of walnut-shaped seeds.

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A view of the the sharp protective barbs on the stems of the cycas revoluta.

All images @cognoscere and taken on November 22, 2016 at the Southport, North Carolina terminus of the Fort Fisher / Southport Ferry (Canon PowerShot SD1400 IS)