Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male or female. Cycads vary in size from having trunks only a few centimeters to several meters tall. They typically grow very slowly and live very long. Because of their superficial resemblance, they are sometimes mistaken for palms or ferns, but they are not closely related to either group.
The Zamiaceae are a family of cycads that are superficially palm or fern-like. They are divided into two subfamilies with eight genera and about 150 species in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Australia and North and South America.
Encephalartos woodii, Wood's cycad, is a rare cycad in the genus Encephalartos, and is endemic to the oNgoye Forest of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is one of the rarest plants in the world, being extinct in the wild with all specimens being clones of the type. The specific and common name both honour John Medley Wood, curator of the Durban Botanic Garden and director of the Natal Government Herbarium of South Africa, who discovered the plant in 1895.
Lepidozamia peroffskyana is a palm-like cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to eastern Australia. The species is named after Count Peroffsky (1794-1857), benefactor of the St. Petersburg Botanical Garden.
Encephalartos horridus, the Eastern Cape blue cycad, is a small, low-growing cycad up to 0.9 m (3.0 ft) high and 0.9 m (3.0 ft) wide. It is a native of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, and found in arid shrublands, most commonly on ridges and slopes with shallow soils. The species is particularly known for its distinctly blue-gray leaves, although the degree of coloration can vary significantly. The species name horridus is Latin for 'bristly', after the plant's stiff, spiny leaflets.
Encephalartos sclavoi, common name Sclavo's cycad, is a critically endangered cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to Tanzania, with a population of only ~50 mature plants.
Encephalartos ferox, a member of the family Zamiaceae, is a small cycad with 35 cm wide subterranean trunk. It gets its name from the Latin word ferocious, likely from the spine-tipped lobes on the leaves of the plant. It is found naturally on the south-eastern coast of Africa where it has been used by local people for its starch content. It is considered to be one of the most popular cultivated cycads.
The Durban Botanic Gardens is situated in the city of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is Durban's oldest public institution and Africa's oldest surviving botanical gardens. The gardens cover an area of 15 hectares in a subtropical climate.
Encephalartos lehmannii is a low-growing palm-like cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is commonly known as the Karoo cycad and is endemic to South Africa. The species name lehmannii commemorates Prof J.G.C. Lehmann, a German botanist who studied the cycads and published a book on them in 1834. This cycad is listed as near threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Encephalartos longifolius is a low-growing palm-like cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to South Africa and is commonly known as Thunberg's cycad, breadpalm or broodboom. This cycad is listed as near threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Encephalartos ituriensis is a palm-like cycad of the family Zamiaceae. It is native to the grassland on two large granite monadnocks of the Ituri forest area in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its IUCN conservation status is "Near Threatened."
Encephalartos caffer, the Eastern Cape dwarf cycad, is a rare cycad from the genus Encephalartos.
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. It is commonly known as the Lebombo cycad, although the name is also used for Encephalartos senticosus which also occurs in the same locality.
Encephalartos senticosus is a species of cycad in the family Zamiaceae native to the Lebombo Mountains of Mozambique, Eswatini (Swaziland), and the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Prior to its description in 1996, Encephalartos senticosus had been confused with the closely related and sympatric Encephalartos lebomboensis. Both species are commonly known as the Lebombo cycad.
Encephalartos natalensis, the Natal cycad or giant cycad, is a species of cycad that is endemic to the Qumbu and Tabankulu areas of the northern part of the Eastern Cape, and through most of KwaZulu-Natal. The number of mature individuals of this species is declining and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "near threatened".
Encephalartos arenarius is a species of cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is limited to the Eastern Cape. Its common names include Alexandria cycad and dune cycad.
Encephalartos kisambo is a species of cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is known as the Voi cycad.
Encephalartos inopinus is a species of cycad that is native to Limpopo Province, South Africa.
Encephalartos hildebrandtii is a species of cycad in the Zamiaceae family. It is native to Kenya and Tanzania at elevations from sea level to 600 metres (2,000 ft). The species is named for the German explorer Johann Maria Hildebrandt.
Encephalartos poggei is a species of cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is referred to by the common name Kananga cycad. It is native to Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zaire.
