Encephalartos transvenosus

Welcome to the PACSOA Palms and Cycads wiki! If you have any information about this species, please help by updating this article. Once you are registered you can contribute, change, or correct the text, and even add photos on this page. Click on the edit tab above and play around. Any mistake can be easily corrected, so don't be afraid.

Figure 1. E. transvenosus leaflet detail

Common Names:

Modjadji cycad,
Modjadji broodboom (local name)

Distribution & Habitat:

Found in South Africa in the Letaba District of Mpumalanga, northern Transvaal, growing at an altitude of 600-1000m.

Description:

This is one of the largest of all cycads, reaching a height of 12m and the trunk being up to 45cm in diameter. The leaves are dark green, glossy, and up to 2.5m long. The leaflets overlap and are reflexed from the rhachis. The female cones grow up to 40kg in weight, and are dark golden in colour. It is very closely related to Encephalartos paucidentatus, the main distinguishing feature being that the leaflets of E. paucidentatus are narrower than in this species.

Culture:

Sunny, moist, but well drained position. Not frost tolerant. Very quick growing for a cycad, and will eventually form a very large plant.

Figure 2. E. transvenosus

File:Encephalartos transvenosus03.jpg

Figure 3. E. transvenosus in habitat.

File:Encephalartos transvenosus04.jpg

Figure 4. E. transvenosus in Adelaide Botanic Gardens

File:Encephalartos transvenosus05.jpg

Figure 5. E. transvenosus female cones

Contributed by:

Dr Andre J. Cilliers (Figure 2&3)
Mike Gray (Figure 1,4&5)

External Links:

World List, IUCN, JSTOR, Trebrown

Google, GoogleImages, Flickr,