Verification
Plant verification
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Verified Plants May Sell for More
Cycad values depend on accurate identification, and buyers often pay more when the identification is backed by evidence. Verification is never compulsory. It is a service we facilitate only — we do not verify plants ourselves. We connect your submission to qualified cycad experts who have no financial interest in the sale, and record what they find. Unverified plants may still be listed, auctioned and sold on Cycad Central, clearly marked as unverified. Every verification is recorded permanently against the plant, creating a trusted identification record that can follow the plant throughout its history.
How to submit a plant for successful verification
Good verification starts with good evidence. You don’t need to know the species — your job is simply to photograph the plant clearly. Cycad Central walks you through every view, one at a time, with tips and an automatic check on brightness, sharpness and detail before the file goes to an expert.
1Whole Plant
Shows overall plant architecture — habit, height, stem proportion, crown and leaf density.
2Stem / Caudex
Shows stem diameter, shape, leaf scars, leaf bases, surface texture and any offsets.
3Complete Mature Leaf
Shows complete leaf architecture — length, rachis shape and curvature, leaflet spacing and progression.
4Leaflet Detail
Shows fine leaflet morphology — shape, tips, bases, margins, teeth, texture, colour and venation.
5Crown / New Growth
Shows crown structure and new growth — leaf bases, cataphylls, wool and emerging leaves.
6Cone / reproductive structure
If the plant has no cone, we ask for the leaf underside and rachis instead.
You are never asked to photograph a cone your plant does not have. Extra photographs can be added for the expert afterwards, and the expert sees exactly what was supplied and what was not.
The process
Optional, always — this is what happens once a seller chooses to be connected to an expert.
Step 1
Seller submits the file
Species, standardised measurements, provenance and the guided photograph walkthrough.
Step 2
We connect you to an expert
An administrator assigns one independent expert with the right species knowledge. Sellers can never pick their own assessor.
Step 3
One independent assessment
The expert confirms or corrects the species and form, rates whether the photographs are sufficient and records a confidence score with a signed no-conflict declaration.
Step 4
The finding is recorded
Approval verifies the plant. A decline sends the listing back to draft with the expert's notes. Where the expert cannot reach a confident identification, the outcome is recorded as unable to verify: the plant stays listed as unverified, no certificate is issued and no verification fee is charged on the sale.
Step 5
Cycad Certificate issued
A verified plant receives a permanent certificate recording species, verification reference and every ownership transfer.
What it costs
Verification is free while Cycad Central is in its beta stage — no verification fee is charged or invoiced for now. Cycad Central still charges sellers a platform fee of 5% on sales up to R5,000 or 2.5% on sales over R5,000 — paid by the seller out of the sale price. Payments to experts for verification work are coming soon — at this stage experts receive no payment for verifications.
Compliance is yours
Many Encephalartos species are protected. Sellers confirm they hold the required permits before a listing goes live, and experts flag provenance concerns in their assessment. Verification confirms identity and condition — it is not a permit.