Winter-berg cycad
Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi — the Winterberg cycad
Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi is the big woolly cycad of the Eastern Cape interior, growing in grassland along the Winterberg and Stormberg where frost is routine. Mature plants form tall, often multi-stemmed groups topped with dense crowns of narrow, grey-green leaves.
About Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi
Its most obvious feature is the mass of pale wool in the crown, from which new leaves emerge. Old plants build trunks of several metres and lean into picturesque shapes, and a large clump is one of the most impressive sights in South African cycad country.
It is a grassland fire species, so it is tougher than it looks and handles cold well. That makes it a strong candidate for inland gardens where the coastal greens struggle, and its relative availability keeps it within reach of ordinary collectors.
How to identify it
- Dense white to grey wool in the crown, persistent through the season.
- Numerous narrow, grey-green leaflets, sometimes with a spine or two.
- Tall trunks, frequently clumping into multi-stemmed groups.
- Leaves straight and stiff, forming a dense shuttlecock crown.
What drives the price
- Trunk height and number of stems in the clump.
- Crown density and the presence of clean, uniform wool.
- Establishment after transplant — big trunks move poorly if lifted carelessly.
- Verified identification against E. cycadifolius and E. ghellinckii.
Seedlings and small plants are among the better-value protected cycads; big multi-stemmed clumps are landscape statements and priced accordingly by trunk metre.
Permits and paperwork
Near threatened and protected. Possession permits for private sellers and selling permits for nurseries are required and checked before a listing publishes.
Read the cycad sale rulesGrowing it
Full sun, free-draining soil, tolerant of hard frost and dry cold. Water in summer, keep dry in winter. Avoid rich, wet soil — it is a grassland plant, not a forest one.
E. friderici-guilielmi questions buyers ask
Buy E. friderici-guilielmi 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.
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