Encephalartos natalensis
Natal Cycad
Scientific name:Encephalartos natalensis
Family: Zamiaceae
Origin: South Africa
Year planted: 2018
Flowering: April- June
Encephalartos natalensis
Description
Encephalartos natalensis is a perennial plant that belongs to the fast-growing group of cycads and can reach 6.5 meters in height.
Its leaves are medium in size, from one and a half to three meters long, which are reduced to thorns in the lower valves. New leaves and cones are covered with a yellowish-brown wool. This is a dioecious plant, that is, there are male plants and female plants.
It usually produces 2 to 3 orange cones, which in the case of male plants are cylindrical, of a velvety yellowish green color about 50 cm long and up to 120 cm in diameter, which shed pollen from April to June.
The female cones are oblong and can measure up to 60 cm long and 30 cm in diameter. The cones spontaneously disintegrate between November and January, producing 400-500 bright red seeds each.
Marimurtra’s specimen
The specimen of Encephalartos natalensis from Marimurtra was planted in 2018 in the palm grove area, in the second garden. It is a beautiful specimen of large dimensions and mature age. A few months after its planting, it was discovered that it was a female specimen that produced two female cones that were removed to ensure that the plant did not lose energy and, on the contrary, could channel these reserves to produce a good root system.
At the time of planting, good drainage and a small channel had to be made to ensure that excess water was not retained in the root zone.
Did you know…?
Its acquisition was the result of an exchange for a Jubaea chilensis hybridized naturally in the Marimurtra with a Butia odorata reproduced by Antonio Aguilar and planted some 25 years ago in the deposit area of the first garden.
Threat level (UICN)
Main uses
Raunkiaer Life Forms
