''Encephalartos nubimontanus'' is a species 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 ...
which is native to
Limpopo
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...
,
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 a cycad with an arborescent habit, with an erect or decumbent stem, up to 2.5 m tall and 35-40 cm in diameter, sometimes with secondary stems originating from basal suckers. The pinnate leaves, arranged in a crown at the apex of the stem, are 1–2 m long, supported by a stem about 23 cm long, which has a characteristic reddish ring at the base; they are composed of numerous pairs of lanceolate, leathery leaflets, up to 25 cm long, with a toothed margin and a pungent apex, arranged on the rachis at an angle of 70°.
It is a dioecious species, with male specimens presenting from 1 to 5 sub-conical, pedunculated, 25–40 cm long and 5–9 cm broad cones, and female specimens with 1-3 ovoid cones, 35–40 cm long and 18– wide 20 cm, light green color. The seeds are roughly ovoid, 3.5-3.8 cm long, covered with an orange-red
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
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nubimontanus
{{cycad-stub