Cycads
Encephalartos in Central Africa
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The Genus Encephalartos
in Central Africa
The cycad genus Encephalartos
has captured the imagination of botanists, plant lovers, landscapers and enthusiasts for over one hundred years. The many members of the genus Encephalartos
are arguably the most diverse, widely distributed and spectacular of all the cycad families and are endemic to the continent of Africa. Their range extends from Nigeria, eight degrees north of the equator to the bottom tip of South Africa below Port Elizabeth. Over half of the Encephalartos
species grow in South Africa and when one visits this beautiful country, these plants can be seen everywhere; adorning public buildings, along streets and in public and private gardens. They are one of the true botanical treasures of that country and have been the subject of two impressive works by Giddy (1984) "The Cycads of South Africa" and Goode (1989) "The Cycads of Africa".
The genus Encephalartos
was originally described by Lehmann in 1834 and it is fascinating that new species of the genus are still being found and described one hundred and sixty four years later. This is obviously a result of their vast geographic distribution and the fact that cycads are often referred to in popular literature as "living fossils"; and that many exist as relic populations in remote inaccessible places which are rarely visited by people.
This work focuses on those Encephalartos
species found outside South Africa. The central African species tend to be larger, more vigorous in cultivation, yet more difficult to visit and study than the South African species. As a result, many of these plants remain virtually unknown and many are poorly represented photographically. The purpose of this work is in part to remedy this and to describe the plants with particular reference to their field characteristics pertaining to stems, leaves and cones rather than provide detailed botanical descriptions which have been dealt with elsewhere. Some notes on how each species grows in cultivation are also provided.
It is my hope that many more people all over the world will appreciate and perhaps grow Encephalartos
in their gardens and that some will propagate them so that the cycads of Africa can become as popular as the beautiful cycad,
Cycas revoluta
now grown worldwide in its millions.
Cycads of Kenya
There are 3 species of Encephalartos
and
a new subspecies (as yet unpublished).
growing in Kenya.
These are:
| 1.
E. kisambo
2.
E. hildebrandtii
3.
E. tegulaneus
4. E. tegulaneus
subsp. powyrsii
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They are all large spectacular cycads.
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Cycads of Zambia
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| 5. E. schmitzii
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Firsty discovered was a single female
plant. Now widespread colonies have
been found in Zambia.
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Cycads of Tanzania
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So far there are 5 species of cycads that
have been described, as growing in
Tanzania. The plants recorded are:
| 6. E. marunguensis
- (newly found)
7.
E. delucaneus
8.
E. sclavoi
9.
E. bubalinus
2. E. hildebrandtii
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There are also reports of at least 2
additional undescribed species in Tanzania.
One of these species closely resembles
E. hildebrandtii
. However, the
cones are red instead of yellow.
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Cycads of Uganda
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The four species so far described as from Uganda are:
| | 10. E. equatorialis
(from the south near Jinja)
| | 11. E. whitelockii
(from Western Uganda)
| | 12. E. septentrionalis
| | 13. E. macrostrobilus
(both of these species occur in the north close to the border with Sudan)
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We visited the first three species.
E. macrostrobilus
is very recently described
from the Madi district, an area that is too
dangerous to visit.
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Cycads of Democratic Republic of Congo
There are at least 7 cycads which are
found in Democratic Republic of Congo, 6
of which have been described officially.
These are:
| 14. E. ituriensis
15.
E. laurentianus
16. E. schaijesii
17.
E. poggei
5. E. schmitzii
6. E. marunguensis
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There is also an undescribed species in
the far northeast corner around the towns
of Bunia and Irumu.
| | 18. E.
sp. Bunia
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Cycads of Southern Sudan
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The only cycad thought to occur in this area
was
E. septentrionalis
. We visited it at
Moyo in Northern Uganda and also found
a new, undescribed species growing in the
mountains, eighty kilometres inland frort
the Immatong mountains which form part
of the border with Uganda, an area when
cycads have previously been reported.
| | 19. E. |
sp. Sudan
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Cycads of Zimbabwe
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At present there are 2 named species growing in Zimbabwe:
| 26.
E. manikensis
27.
E. concinnus
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The cycads which grow on and around
the property called 'Elizabethville' near
Chipingi, close to the Chimanimani
mountains are at present described as a
form of E. manikensis
, but will no doubt
become a new species in the future.
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Contributed by:
Peter Heibloem,
(Cycad Gardens).
Reproduced from PALMS & CYCADS No. 60-61, July-Dec 1998
