Encephalartos is a genus of cycad that comes from the African continent. There are more than 60 recognized species. Many come from South Africa, but they also come from northern areas such as The Congo, Sudan, and Kenya. Even though you can not generalize, the smaller, more cold hardy species will come from SA, and can look something like this, which in this case is Encephalartos arenarius.
As you go north to find cycads, the plants have longer leaves and are more tropical in their culture. As an example, E. laurentianus from The Congo had the longest leaves of any cycad, at 22 feet long. This means that when the lower leaves flop down to a horizontal position, it can have a 47 foot spread. Here is a picture of an E. hildebrandtii from Kenya.
The cones of Encephalartos are the most colorful of any cycad genus. These plants are producing cones this time of year and are becoming receptive this month. Instead of making this a really long post, I think I will break this up in order to show you more pictures I took today for your enjoyment. Tom
