Encephalartos longifolius

Encephalartos longifolius, the Suurberg cycad or Thunberg's cycad, is a medium sized, clumping tree (SA Tree List No. 9). The thickset stems may exceed 4 m in height, sometimes reaching 45 cm in diameter. The commonly called Joubertina blue form is apparently a rare form of this plant.

The cones of this species are large, both male and female ones may be as long as 60 cm and greenish brown with reddish, flattened hairs on the surfaces. The seed cones (female ones) get much thicker, are egg-shaped and heavy. The seed cone mass of about 35 to 40 kg is believed to make it the heaviest cone borne by any of the South African cycads. The pollen cones (male ones) are narrow and cylindrical in shape.

The seeds are bright red and toxic. There is a story that soldiers of the commando of General Smuts, when short of food in the Suurberg during the Anglo-Boer War, ate the seeds of this cycad and contracted food poisoning.

The species distribution is in part of the Eastern Cape, the Langkloof from west of Joubertina, the Baviaanskloof, the Kouga and the Suurberg Mountains as far east as Somerset East. 

The habitat is inland montane rocky slopes and ravines, open scrub, grassy fynbos, thicket and forest. The habitat population is deemed near threatened early in the twenty first century, due to excessive illegal collection. Fortunately, a considerable part of this habitat is these days protected land, contributing to the plant's conservation. 

The species is related to E. altensteinii. Their distribution areas do not overlap (Euston-Brown and Kruger, 2023; Coates Palgrave, 2002; iNaturalist; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).