Lillie cycad

Description

Encephalartos dyerianus, known colloquially as the Lillie cycad, is a species of cycad that is native to hillsides in the lowveld of eastern Limpopo, South Africa. The stem reaches 4 m in height by 60 cm in diameter. The leaves are 140–170 cm long, opaque blue-silver, slightly inclined. The petiole is straight and has up to six spines. The leaflets are 17–24 cm long and 13–18 mm wide. They have toothed edges and are inserted into the leaf forming angles of 45-80°. At the base of the leaf the leaflets are reduced to thorns. The spine is normally straight and stiff, but can sometimes be slightly twisted. It is a dioecious species, with ovoid blue-green or yellow male cones 30–50 cm long by 9–12 cm in diameter, and blue-green or yellow ovoid female cones 30–60 cm long by 10–20 cm in diameter. The seeds are elongated, with dimensions 40–45 mm for 25–30 mm, with a yellow or orange-brown sarcotesta.