CONSERVATION STATUS:
- Extinct in nature.
CULTIVATION:
- Semi shade to full sun.
- Regular watering.
- Can sustain light frost.
PROPAGATION:
- The fastest grower of all cycads in Southern Africa.
- Propagated from suckers.
NATURAL HABITAT:
- KwaZulu Natal in Ngoya forest. Only one cluster of plants was discovered by Medley Wood. The plant was moved to the Durban Botanical Garden.
STEM:
- Aerial and erect stem that branches.
- Also forms large resting auxiliary buds on the stem, similar to E. transvenosus.
- Plant sucker freely.
- Stem can attain a length of up to six meters and a diameter of 60 cm to 100 cm at the base.
LEAVES:
- Glossy dark green on the upper side with a lighter green on the lower side.
- Leaves evenly curve downwards to create an umbrella-shaped canopy.
- Leaves can attain a length of 1.75 meters – 2.5 meters.
- Leaflets are crowded and shield one another.
- Leaflets are broad with a width of 4 cm to 6 cm.
- Leaflet margins are mostly entire and leaflets have blunt apices.
- Leaflets from the apex, median and basal parts of the leaf vary considerably.
- Leaflets from suckers also differ from that of mature plants.
CONES:
- Only male plants exist and a big plant can produce 4 – 6 cones per season.
- Cones are bright orange yellow and can reach a length of 1.2 meters, making it one of the largest male cones of all cycads.
