Palms and Cycads

Palms are often referred to as trees, but they are actually classified as monocots, or grass-like plants.  Despite not technically defined as trees, most palms generally perform similar roles as a tree.  Palms are diverse and adaptive in their reproduction with all producing flowers, and their seeds are contained in a fruit, so they are classified as angiosperms.

Cycads are typically called palms, but are in fact only a distant relative of the palm family and are slightly more closely related to ferns. Cycads are dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female plants, and they are gymnosperms, meaning they are non flowering and that their seeds are not delivered in a fruit.  Cycads predate the dinosaurs, but most are classified as endangered at present.

The two are are often grouped together due to an overall similarity of appearance.