''Encephalartos cupidus'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
cycad
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...
that is found in the Limpopo Province,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
at elevations of 700 up to 1,500.
Description
It is an acaulic plant, with a partially underground stem, without branches, 15–40 cm tall and 20–30 cm in diameter; secondary stems can originate from shoots that arise at the base of the main stem.
The pinnate leaves, arranged in a crown at the apex of the stem, up to 100 cm long, are composed of lanceolate leaflets, with margins equipped with small spines and arranged on the rachis at an angle of 50-100°.
It is a dioecious species, endowed with solitary male cones, fusiform, pedunculated, of apple green color, 18–30 cm long and with a diameter of 5–8 cm, with broad and rhombic microsporophylls, and female, ovoid cones, in solitary genus but rarely in pairs, 20–30 cm long and with a diameter of 15–20 cm, with macrosporophylls with a warty surface.
The seeds have an ovoid shape, are 25–35 mm long, have a width of 15–20 mm and are covered with an apricot-colored
sarcotesta
The sarcotesta is a fleshy seedcoat, a type of testa. Examples of seeds with a sarcotesta are pomegranate and some cycad seeds. The sarcotesta of pomegranate seeds consists of epidermal cells derived from the integument, and there are no aril
...
.
References
External links
*
*
cupidus
Flora of the Northern Provinces
{{cycad-stub