Nature
SA Cycad Habitat Photos
Use Menu in the top corner for everything else.
Nature
SA Cycad Habitat Photos
Photos of South African cycads only.
Photographs of cycads as they grow in nature are the best teaching material there is. If you have access to plants in habitat, add your photos here and help us teach our cycad brain to recognise them correctly. Every photograph keeps the name of the person who took it.
Alternatively, if you have very large, old specimens in cultivation that can be used for accurate plant verification, those may also be loaded here — a mature plant with a long history shows the characters of its kind better than almost anything else.
Only add photographs you took yourself, or ones you have permission to share. Never give an exact wild location — the province or district is all we need, and all we ever show.
The whole plant, front on
Shows the overall shape, size and how the leaves are carried.
The stem or trunk
Old leaf bases, scars and thickness separate similar species.
The crown from above
Shows how the leaves sit and whether a new flush is coming.
One full leaf, tip to base
Leaf length, curve and twist are among the strongest clues.
Leaflet close-up, upper side
Colour, spines and margins read clearly from above.
Leaflet close-up, underside
Hairs, veins and colour underneath often settle an identification.
Cone or seeds, if present
Cones are the most reliable feature of all when they are there.
The habitat around the plant
Rock, slope and companion plants tell us where the form belongs.
Natural daylight, no filters, and only photos you took yourself or may share with permission. Never give an exact wild location — the province or district is enough.
Sign in to add your own habitat photographs.