Lebombo cycad
Encephalartos lebomboensis — the Lebombo cycad
Encephalartos lebomboensis grows along the Lebombo mountains on the Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal border, and it is one of the better-looking mid-sized green cycads: glossy dark leaves, a clean upright trunk and orange-red cones that stand out against the foliage.
About Encephalartos lebomboensis
It is closely allied to E. senticosus and E. natalensis, and the three are regularly confused in the trade. Lebomboensis tends to hold straighter leaves with more evenly spaced, less contorted leaflets than senticosus.
Growth is reasonably quick for the genus and the species transplants well, so it is a practical landscape choice for warm gardens. Legitimate nursery stock is available, and prices are moderate compared with the escarpment rarities.
How to identify it
- Glossy dark green leaflets with a few marginal teeth.
- Straight to slightly arching leaves in a symmetrical crown.
- Upright trunk to about 4 m, sometimes suckering.
- Bright orange to red cones on mature plants.
What drives the price
- Trunk height and head count.
- Crown symmetry and leaf gloss.
- Verified identity separating it from E. senticosus and E. natalensis.
- Permit paperwork and clean ownership history.
Mid-market: affordable as a seedling, and priced by trunk metre once it develops a stem. Well-grown multi-headed plants attract landscape buyers as well as collectors.
Permits and paperwork
Endangered and protected. Possession and selling permits apply and are attached to the listing, released to the buyer through a secure, time-limited link.
Read the cycad sale rulesGrowing it
Warm, sunny, well drained. It handles heat and moderate drought and dislikes hard frost. Feed and water through summer for fast, clean growth.
E. lebomboensis questions buyers ask
Buy E. lebomboensis 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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