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Swazi Cycad

Encephalartos relictus

Swazi Cycad is a rare, slow-growing cycad from the Lebombo Mountains of Eswatini, known only from male plants, so it cannot produce seed. Growing it means treating it as a long-lived, sun-loving succulent-like shrub that needs well-drained soil and little water.

Family
Zamiaceae (Cycad family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply then let the soil dry out fully between waterings; never leave it sitting wet.
Soil
Free-draining mix with coarse sand or grit, or a well-drained garden bed.
Temperature
18–30 °C; protect below 5 °C
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Toxic: Cycads in general contain cycasin and related toxins in seeds, leaves and stems, which can cause severe illness if eaten; the sources do not detail this species specifically.
Native range
E. Eswatini (Lebombo Mts.)
Climate
subtropical

About

Encephalartos relictus, also known as the Parlota cycad, is a species of cycad in Eswatini. The cycad is evolutionarily extinct; the cycad has only male plants, meaning that they cannot produce seeds. However, J. J. P. du Preez was able to propagate some offshoots of the specimens.

Other Encephalartos plants

Cycad · Eastern Cape giant cycad · Cycad · Alexandria cycad · Cycad · Escarpment cycad · Lake Natron Cycad · Cycad · Chimanimani cycad · Runde cycad · Cycad · Winterberg Cycad

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Encephalartos relictus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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