Encephalartos humilis

Encephalartos humilis is a species of cycad in the former Transvaal Province, South Africa.

Encephalartos humilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Cycadophyta
Class: Cycadopsida
Order: Cycadales
Family: Zamiaceae
Genus: Encephalartos
Species:
E. humilis
Binomial name
Encephalartos humilis
Verd. 1951

Description

It is an acaule cycad, with stem, mostly underground, which does not exceed 50 cm in height and with a diameter of 15-20 cm, sometimes with secondary stems originating from basal shoots. [1] The leaves, pinnate, from 5 to 8, arranged in a crown at the apex of the stem, are 30–50 cm long, supported by a petiole about 10 cm long, and composed of numerous pairs of lanceolate, leathery leaflets, up to 13 long cm, with entire margin and about 9 parallel veins on the lower face, inserted on a greenish-yellow rachis. It is a dioecious species, with male specimens that have fusiform cones, sessile, 15–20 cm long and 4–5 cm broad, of brownish-gray color, and female specimens with a coarsely cylindrical solitary cone, about 25 cm long and 8 cm wide –10 cm, of the same color as the masculine ones. The seeds are roughly ovoid, 2.5-3.5 cm long, covered with a light yellow to orange flesh.

References

  1. "Encephalartos humilis". PlantNET Home Page - National Herbarium of New South Wales. Retrieved 2019-09-17.


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