Encephalartos latifrons
Broadleaf kafferbread (Palmer & Pitman 1972).
"[A]n erect species, sometimes branched from the base, with stems up to over 10 feet (3 m) tall, and a crown of long, hard, arching or curved leaves, with distinctive leaflets that are broad - the middle ones up to nearly 2 1/2 inches (6.2 cm) in width - and 2-lobed at the apex, and with the lower margins bearing sharp and often twisted lobes. ... One to three cones are borne and these are a dark green and large. The female are the biggest, up to 2 feet (60 cm) long, with large red seeds" (Palmer & Pitman 1972).
South Africa: Bathurst and Albany districts of the eastern Cape, in scrub bush on rocky hill slopes (Palmer & Pitman 1972).
No data as of 2023.03.03.
Nearly extinct in the wild due to poaching; now too widely dispersed for natural reproduction to occur (Jones 1993).
"The name latifrons means 'broad-fronded'.
"Encephalartos latifrons is believed the slowest growing of all the tree cycads.
"This species is sometimes confused with E. arenarius R.A. Dyer, which grows in scrub on the sand dunes in the Alexandria district. This, however, is a short species not reaching tree size" (Palmer & Pitman 1972).
Last Modified 2023-03-03
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