About
Encephalartos kisambo, the Voi cycad, is an endangered cycad of steep forested hills in Kenya and Tanzania, including cloud forest.
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 1.2–2 m tall; leaves 2.4–3.6 m long.
Field notes
Morphology
A barrel-shaped trunk 1.2–2 m tall and about 50 cm thick bears dark green leaves 2.4–3.6 m long. Young leaves are tan-haired. Leathery, slightly overlapping leaflets carry spines near the base. Male cones are creamy yellow; females bear 1–5 cones that ripen from pale yellow to orange or tan. Seeds have an orange-red coat.
Distribution & habitat
Kenya and Tanzania, mostly on steep hills near the border in misty and cloud forest, with some plants on drier rocky slopes; originally known from the Maungu Hills at 800–1,050 m.
History & etymology
Found near Voi in 1970 by Robert Archer of the East African Herbarium and formally described in 1989 by Richard Faden and H.J. Beentje.
Conservation
Assessed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, threatened by clearing for farming and charcoal and by removal for the plant trade.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- Kenya, Tanzania
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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