Editing Macrozamia diplomera (section)

===Comment:===
One peculiar characteristic of
''M. diplomera''
is that some plants
have a 1.2/1.5 metre long whip-cord like tap root, extending straight down from
the base of the caudex into the sandy soil in which they grow, quite possibly as
a means of drawing extra moisture from the sub-layers of the soil.
Although ''M. diplomera''
normally has an unbranched subterranean caudex,
we have seen one plant which was growing in a road-grader formed earth bank
on the side of a dirt road which had 3 separate heads (of fronds) at ground level
and two underground suckers with emerging fronds. The fronds on this plant
(which had obviously been damaged in a road grading operation)
were substantially smaller than normal fronds.
It is also interesting to note the comment by David Jones in Cycads of the World
(Second Edition) that:
''Macrozamia diplomera''
is a distinctive species readily distinguishable
by its numerous obliquely erect leaves that give the crown the appearance of a shuttlecock.
This species, not
''[[Macrozamia heteromera]]''
as suggested by some writers, was responsible for
a stock poisoning episode near Coonabarabran in 1929, in which approximately
2,200 sheep died, reportedly as a result of eating seeds from disintegrating cones
(though some observers now believe that the poisoning may have been caused by
sheep eating fronds on the plants, during a period of drought).