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The leaflets are dark green, fairly stiff, and up to 3 cm (1.2 in) wide and 40 cm (16 in) long. The cones are quite large – male cones measure up to 40 cm (16 in) tall and 14 cm (5.5 in) diameter and female cones are up to 60 cm (24 in) tall and 30 cm (12 in) diameter.
Loran M. Whitelock (April 21, 1930 - May 27, 2014) was an American botanist who specialized in Cycads, a prehistoric plant that once dominated the planet and is now somewhat rare and endangered. [1] He was known as a plant collector, plant curator, nursery owner, author, and conservationist.
Cycads all over the world are in decline, with four species on the brink of extinction and seven species have fewer than 100 plants left in the wild. [ 2 ] 23,420 species of vascular plant have been recorded in South Africa, making it the sixth most species-rich country in the world and the most species-rich country on the African continent.
While there are more than 200 species of cycads, only one is native to Florida, and only a couple are popular landscaping plants in our area.
A specimen of L. hopei is known as the tallest living cycad at 17.5 m tall. These cycads are generally unbranched, tall, and with persistent leaf bases. They are easily cultivated as ornamental plants and are relatively cold hardy; L. peroffskyana was first described by a specimen grown at Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden in 1857.
This species is dioecious, with male plants bearing 1 to 5 cylindrical-fusiform cones, 30-40 cm long and 9-10 cm wide, in yellow to brown hues. Female plants produce 1-5 cylindrical cones, 20-30 cm long and 10-15 cm wide, in a light yellow color. The seeds are roughly oval-shaped, 2.5-3.5 cm long, and covered with a yellow-orange sarcotesta. [4]
Encephalartos afer, [4] commonly known as the Eastern Cape dwarf cycad, is a species of cycad in the genus Encephalartos. It is a near threatened species native to South Africa . Description
Encephalartos lebomboensis is a species of cycad in the family Zamiaceae. Native to the Lebombo Mountains of South Africa, the species was first described in 1949 by the South African botanist Inez Verdoorn. [3] It is commonly known as the Lebombo cycad, although the name is also used for Encephalartos senticosus which also occurs in the same ...