Encephalartos aemulans
Ngotshe cycad
Family Zamiaceae
About
Encephalartos aemulans, the Ngotshe cycad, is a critically endangered cycad known from a single wild population in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Perhaps 100–250 plants remain, and numbers are still falling.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Not recorded. We have no source on whether this plant is safe for cats, dogs or other pets — that is not the same as safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked.
- People
- Not recorded.
- Mature size
- Trunk up to about 3 m tall; leaves up to 2 m long.
Field notes
Morphology
An unbranched trunk up to 3 m tall and 35 cm thick carries leaves up to 2 m long with spiny-edged, pointed leaflets 12–15 cm long. Plants are either male or female: male cones are yellow and oval, 29–38 cm long; female cones are yellow-green, 35–40 cm long. Seeds are about 25–30 mm long with a red fleshy coat.
Distribution & habitat
Endemic to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where it grows among sandstone cliffs in short-grass savanna at about 1,000–1,100 m, with a few plants lower down.
Conservation
Listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN and on CITES Appendix I. Collection of wild plants is the main threat.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- South Africa
- IUCN status
- Critically endangered
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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