Cardboard palm belongs to the Cycad family. Other cycads include the coontie palm and the sago palm (neither of these are palms but they really do look like them). Cardboard palm has leaves 3-4 ft long that emerge from a central point forming a rosette. When grown in bright sunlight the rosette becomes a 3 foot high clump of tightly overlapping leaves that will slowly grow to 6 ft in diameter. The thick leathery leaves are pinnate and have 5 in long by 1 in wide oval leaflets. They are slightly fuzzy and feel a little like cardboard when rubbed.