Encephalartos ferox

Zululand cycad

This plant gets its species name from the Latin word for ‘fierce’ and ‘ferocious,’ which is warranted by its very spiny leaflets.

The stem has been used by local people for its starches, similar to the Seminole use of coontie, our Florida native cycad. If you know your Latin, this use is hinted at by the genus name, which breaks down to mean literally “within head bread.” Indigenous Africans remove the starchy center of the trunk, wrap it in an animal skin, ferment it, then grind it into meal. The trunk is about a foot wide can extend up (or down) to three feet, thereby providing a good amount of starch per plant.

Subterranean trunks of plants such as this cycad develop with the help of contractile roots. These roots grow down into the soil during the wet season and then contract longitudinally while expanding radially during the dry season, effectively pulling the trunk of the plant farther into the soil. This process repeats year after year, resulting in plants that have no apparent trunk above ground but a sizable trunk underground.

Cycads are very popular amongst collectors. Combined with the fact that cycads are very slow-growing organisms usually with relatively small populations to begin with, all cycad species are protected by law and international trade is controlled through CITES. Fortunately, the Zululand cycad, relative to other cycads, is common and fast growing.

Looking its best in part shade, this cycad thrives in deep sandy soil. Besides being easy to grow and available in nurseries, this cycad has also been described as having the most colorful cycad cones known, ranging from yellow to orange to red in color.