Scientific name
Common name
Family
Origin
South Africa
Year planted
2013
Description
They have a very short trunk, up to 1 meter. The leaves are evergreen, hard and glaucous green. They are very large: they measure between 1 and 2 meters in length.
It is a dioecious species: there are male and female specimens. Both sexes generate a cone located in the middle of the leaves, orange-red or yellow. The cones may be solitary or in groups. The female ones are smaller.
The seeds mature inside the cones. They are orange or bright red.
Marimurtra’s specimens
It has a 20-centimeter trunk and 1.5-meter-wide leaves. You will find it in the desert area of South Africa.
It is part of a set of cicadas that Jordi Grau Bartolomé gave to the Garden in 2013.
Did you know that…?
The animals that feed on its fruit do not consume the seeds because they are toxic. In South Africa they extract starch from the interior of the trunk to consume it.
Currently the cycads are protected and the extraction of components that would lead to the death of the plant is forbidden.
Threat level (UICN)
Main uses
Raunkiaer Life Forms
