Lillie cycad
Encephalartos dyerianus — the Lillie cycad
Encephalartos dyerianus is known from one hill on one farm near Lillie in Limpopo — a single wild population of a few hundred plants. It is also one of the most beautiful silver cycads in the world, which is precisely the problem the conservation authorities have had to manage.
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About Encephalartos dyerianus
The leaves are strongly silver-blue, stiff and upright, on a stout stem that can reach 2 to 3 m in old plants. In good light a mature specimen reads almost white, and it holds that colour better than most silver species because the bloom is dense.
Fortunately the species propagates well from seed and a substantial legal nursery trade exists. That means a buyer never has to consider a plant of doubtful origin: ask for the permit, ask for the propagation record, and buy the documented plant.
How to identify it
- Intense silver-blue leaves, stiff and held upright to slightly recurved.
- Leaflets narrow to moderately broad with a few sharp spines.
- Stout, upright stem, usually solitary, to around 3 m with age.
- New flush emerges silvery-woolly and hardens without greening much.
What drives the price
- Depth and evenness of the silver colour on a hardened flush.
- Stem height and caudex diameter.
- Symmetry of the crown and absence of scarring.
- Verified identity and permit paperwork.
Seedlings are attainable and rise steeply with size; a trunked silver specimen is a headline plant and priced as one. Watch the auctions for where the market actually clears.
Permits and paperwork
Critically endangered and fully protected despite the healthy nursery trade. Possession and selling permits are required and verified on every listing.
Read the cycad sale rulesGrowing it
Full sun is essential for colour, with sharp drainage and a dry winter. It handles heat and dry air well. Avoid overhead irrigation, which marks the bloom on the leaves.
E. dyerianus questions buyers ask
Buy E. dyerianus with the identification proven
Independent experts confirm the species, measurements and condition before a plant is marked verified, and every verified plant carries a Cycad Certificate recording its identity and each change of ownership.
Registered E. dyerianus certificates
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