Encephalartos middelburgensis is a species of cycad that is native to Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa at elevations of 1100–1400 meters.[2]

Encephalartos middelburgensis
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
(unranked):	Gymnosperms
Division:	Cycadophyta
Class:	Cycadopsida
Order:	Cycadales
Family:	Zamiaceae
Genus:	Encephalartos
Species:	E. middelburgensis
Binomial name
Encephalartos middelburgensis Vorster, Robbertse & S. Van der Westh. 1989
Synonyms
Encephalartos eugene-maraissii subspecies middelburgensis Lavranos & D.L.Goode

Description

It is a cycad with an arborescent habit, with an erect or decumbent stem, up to 10 m tall and 35-45 cm in diameter, often with secondary stems originating from basal suckers. The leaves, pinnate, arranged in a crown at the apex of the stem, are 1.2-1.5 m long, supported by a 30-40 cm long petiole with a densely tomentose base, and composed of numerous pairs of lanceolate, leathery leaflets, up to 20 cm long, with entire margin or occasionally with a single spine on the inferior margin and sharp apex. It is a dioecious species, with male specimens that have from 1 to 8 cylindrical or strictly ovoid cones, erect, 30–55 cm long and 8–12 cm broad, green in color and covered with a brownish tomentum, and female specimens with 1- 6 cylindrical cones, about 35–45 cm long and 17–20 cm wide, the same color as the male cones. The seeds are coarsely ovoid, 3–3.5 cm long, covered with a yellow to brown sarcotesta.[3]

References

External links

• PlantZAfrica.com article
• Media related to Encephalartos middelburgensis at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Encephalartos middelburgensis at Wikispecies

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