On the blue arrow track which climbs up from the Botanic Gardens, there are some enormous cycads.  If fact, some cycad experts believe that this species of cycad is the worlds tallest.  The cycad I am talking about is Lepidozamia hopei, which lives in the rainforest on the high branch of the blue arrow track - Cairns Botanic Gardens.  Right now, the giant pine-cone line cones are forming in the centre of these ancient plants.  Currently the cones are about half a metre tall and are green, however the segments become hot pink when they are ripe.  Each hand-sized segment will contain a walnut sized seed.  Cycads are poisonous so the fruit or seed should not be eaten.  Cycas media, the common hillside cycad lives in bushland on the sides of Mt Whitfield and can be seen in fruit and flushing new foliage on the low branch of the blue arrow track.  Please do not walk around the cycads as they have strange knobbly white roots on the surface of the ground.  These roots are called coralloid roots and they contain photosynthetic blue green bacteria, which can capture nitrogen from the air and feed the cycad.  In response to an anonymous question: Lepidozamia hopei is endemic to the Wet Tropics, however a related species occurs in South East Queensland (Lepidozamia peroffskyana).  I do not know which animal disperses the seeds and have contacted some experts to find out.  The book "Cycads of the World" by David Jones says that Lepidozamia fruit are reputed to be eaten by cassowaries.  If you have the answer or have another question, please post it in the environment forum.