''Encephalartos manikensis'' (Gorongo Cycad, Gorongowe 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 ...
of
cycad
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male o ...
that is native to
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
and
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
.
Description
It is a cycad with an arborescent habit, with a stem up to 1.5 m high, sometimes with secondary stems originating from basal shoots.
The pinnate leaves, arranged in a crown at the apex of the stem, are 1–2 m long, supported by a petiole 5–6 cm long, and composed of about 60 pairs of lanceolate leaflets, sometimes with 1-2 spines on the upper margin and lower, inserted on the rachis with an angle of 180°, reduced to thorns towards the petiole.
It is a dioecious species, with male specimens that have from 1 to 4 cylindrical-ovoid cones, erect, 25–65 cm long and 15–22 cm broad, light green, and female specimens with 1-2 ovoid cones, 30 –45 cm and width 20–25 cm,
The seeds are coarsely ovoid, 3–5 cm long, covered with a bright red sarcotesta.
References
External links
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manikensis
Flora of Mozambique
Flora of Zimbabwe
Vulnerable flora of Africa
Plants described in 1939
{{cycad-stub