 The use of flour made from cycad seed ("Cycas micronesica") in traditional food items decreased as that plant became rarer and the Chamorro population became more Americanized following World War II.Cycads harbor symbiotic cyanobacteria of the genus "Nostoc" in specialized roots which push up through the leaf litter into the light; these cyanobacteria produce BMAA.In addition to eating traditional food items from cycad flour directly, BMAA may be ingested by humans through biomagnification.