Encephalartos lebomboensis (Retief) leaf

Encephalartos lebomboensis, the Retief form, has leaves of up to 2 m. They form a dense crown on a flourishing specimen. The rachis is strongly curved near the apex. The pinnae or leaflets are bright green. They have up to four teeth on both margins in a regular pattern. Note the yellow markings in the photo on the petiolules (stalks of leaflets in a compound leaf) at the base where the leaflets join the rachis (Coates Palgrave, 2002; www.plantzafrica.com).

This cycad species is thought by some to be extinct in nature. Plant collectors and human land users have probably removed or destroyed them all! This plants popularity has given it a brief respite, as it is quite common in cultivation and the specialised horticultural market. Other rare plants are not always so lucky to have common cultivation method knowledge among the greedy. 

The expression "loving someone or something to death" is rather apt in the case of rare plants. Rarity unfortunately causes popularity. The human need to be special gives birth to the impulse of owning something special.  The treasured ownership then conjures a false image of a superior or worthy self. This makes the collecting craze (or megalomania) grow rampant, causing among other bad things, the demise of plant and animal species in nature.