Encephalartos princeps

Encephalartos princeps, the Kei cycad, grows several stems, the tallest of around 3 m usually not the longest, as the longest tend to recline, becoming up to 5 m long (SA Tree List No. 12). Some bare stem part is visible already below the lowest leaves of the plant in picture. Old leaf discolouring is present.

The species distribution is in a small part of the Eastern Cape, the catchment area of the Great Kei River.

The habitat is karoid scrub on rocky outcrops and dolerite cliffs. The habitat population is deemed vulnerable in its habitat early in the twenty first century. Apart from plant collection and habitat loss, extensive invasion by Lantana camara has brought about control measures thought to add risk to the cycad’s future population numbers (Hugo, 2014; Coates Palgrave, 2002; iNaturalist; www.plantzafrica.com; http://www.iucnredlist.org).