''Encephalartos inopinus'' 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 native to 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 ...
.
Description
It is an arboreal plant, with stems up to 3 m high and 15–25 cm in diameter.
It has 100-150 cm long leaves, blue or semi-glossy silver. The leaflets, 14–20 cm long and lanceolate, have the lower toothed margin and are inserted on the rachis in the opposite way at an angle of 180°.
It is a dioecious species, with male specimens that have from 1 to 3 closely ovoid cones, green in color, 18–25 cm long and 6–8 cm in diameter, and female specimens, with 1-2 cones of the same color, of oval shape, 30–35 cm long and 12 cm in diameter. Both appear in January, i.e. in the middle of summer in the northern hemisphere. Both macrosporophylls and microsporophylls have a flat, smooth and glabrous surface.
The seeds are 20–25 mm long, 15–20 mm wide and are covered with an orange flesh.
References
External links
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inopinus
Endemic flora of South Africa
Flora of the Northern Provinces
Trees of South Africa
Critically endangered flora of Africa
{{cycad-stub