''Encephalartos natalensis'', the Natal cycad or giant cycad, 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 ...

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

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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 The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed its conservation status as being "

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

Description

The Natal cycad grows to a height of or more. It may have a single trunk or may be branched from the base. The trunk is topped by a rosette of large, evergreen,

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

leaves somewhat twisted near the tip, which may be long. The leaflets are dark green and about wide; they may be untoothed, or they may have one or more small prickles on either edge. The longest leaflets are in the centre of the leaf, and the leaflets nearest the leaf base may be replaced by spines, a fact that distinguishes this cycad from the otherwise similar ''

Encephalartos altensteinii ''Encephalartos altensteinii'' is a palm-like cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to South Africa. The species name ''altensteinii'' commemorates Altenstein, a 19th-century German chancellor and patron of science. It is commonly known a ...

''. The Natal cycad is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

, having male and female cones on separate plants. The male cones are velvety and about in size.

Pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

is produced from April to June. The two or three female cones are slightly woolly, yellowish-green and cylindrical, in size, the scales being covered with small knobs. The cones split open when ripe revealing the bright red seeds which are about long. File:Encephalartos natalensis KirstenboshBotGard09292010E.JPG, Cones File:Thousand Hills Cycad (Encephalartos natalensis) 1.jpg, leaves File:Encephalartos natalensis 0zz.jpg, Single Trunk File:Encephalartos Natalensis, Limbe Botanic garden.jpg, Multiple trunks File:Encephalartos natalensis 1c.JPG, Seeds

Distribution and habitat

This cycad is

to South Africa. It occurs in the

Qumbu Qumbu is a town in O.R.Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The town is 61 km north of Mthatha and was founded in 1876. The name is of isiXhosa origin, derived from ''amazimba aqumbu'', ‘the corn has ...

and

Tabankulu Ntabankulu, formerly Tabankulu, is a town in Alfred Nzo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Village some 30 km east-south-east of Mount Frere and 50 km south-south-west of Kokstad. Of Xhosa Xhosa may ...

areas of the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

Province, and in a large part of

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, including the catchment areas of the

Mkuze River Mkuze, also named Mkhuze or uMkhuze is a small town in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is located approximately 350 km from the city of Durban. It is along the N2 road en route to Johannesburg, Eswatini and Mozambique; between the ...

and the

Umfolozi River The Umfolozi River (also uMfolozi, Imfolozi or Mfolozi) is a river in KwaZulu-Natal, a province of South Africa. It is formed by the confluence of the Black (''Imfolozi emnyama'') and White Umfolozi (''Imfolozi emhlope'') Rivers near the southeaste ...

. It is found at altitudes of up to , but seldom close to the coast. It grows on rocky outcrops, south-facing cliffs or steep scarp slopes in forests. An easy place to see this species is in the gorge below the

Howick Falls Howick Falls is a waterfall in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The waterfall is approximately 95 m in height (310 feet) and lies on the Umgeni River. The Zulu people called the falls ''KwaNogqaza'', which means "Place of the ...

, where its palm-like fronds contrast with the surrounding broad-leaved trees. Another location is the

Valley of a Thousand Hills The Valley of a Thousand Hills is a valley between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, South Africa. The Umgeni River meets the Msunduzi River ( Duzi River) in the valley, and the Dusi Canoe Marathon is run through the area every year. Geography The V ...

, where a group of the trees has been declared a "national monument".

Ecology

The larvae of the leopard magpie moth feed on the leaves of this and several other cycads.

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

baboon Baboons are primates comprising the genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow baboon, the Kinda baboon and the chacma ba ...

s, bats and

trumpeter hornbill The trumpeter hornbill (''Bycanistes bucinator'') is a medium-sized hornbill, with length between , characterized by a large grey casque on the bill, smaller in females. The eyes are brown or red, with pink surrounding skin. Body mass is between ...

s feed on the fruits, but discard the seeds, which are poisonous, thereby distributing the seed.

Status

The

has assessed this species as being "

". The threats it faces include removal of the plants by collectors, and damage to the plant caused by bark being removed for use in

herbal medicine Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...

. Populations of this cycad are thought to be declining and it is estimated that there are around 10,000 mature individuals.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q538001 natalensis Plants described in 1951 Endemic flora of South Africa