Common Names
Kei River cycad (1).Description
"Usually a small tree, sometimes with a clean trunk, more often bushy ... The trunk sometimes reaches a height of about 13 feet (4 m), with age growing at an angle or prostrate on the ground. The leaves have a blue or silvery tinge when young but become dark green with age. They are straight or the tips are curved backwards, and they are sometimes hairy in youth. The leaflets are of medium width, the middle ones just over 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) wide, with the lower margin sometimes toothed. ... Two or more cones grow together and these are up to about 1 foot (30 cm) long, the female the largest. The seeds are red and warted" (1).Range
South Africa: dolerite cliffs in the Kei River basin (1).Remarks
"The specific name, meaning 'the first', refers to the fact that Dr Dyer, who described the tree, considered it the forerunner of a group of related species" (1).Citations
(1) Palmer & Pitman 1972.See also Jones 1993.
[Encephalartos] [Zamiaceae] [home]
This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
URL: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/2285/za/en/princeps.htm
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
E-mail:earlecj@earthlink.net
Last modified on 29-Dec-98