Several plants with Cycas-like leaves (after Thomas: The
evolution of plants and flowers, 1981)
There were two groups with Cycas-like leaves: the real cycads
and the Bennettitales.
The last (now extinct) group has no English name. The plants of this
group had already flowers.
It has been thought that the modern flowering plants derived from these plants,
but it has proven not to be true.
It is very difficult to distinguish between cycads and Bennettitales.
Microscopic preparations of the
cuticle
are needed for that.
Flower of a Bennettitalis plant