Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi
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Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi |
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Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi is a member of the cycads (Cycadales) and belongs to the genus of bread palm ferns ( Encephalartos ). The kind is after the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III. (1770-1840) named.
features
The trunks are tree-shaped and stand individually or in groups due to root saplings. The trunk grows up to 4 m high and 35 to 60 cm wide. The crown is open and woolly brown.
The numerous leaves are stiff, straight or slightly curved and spread horizontally, usually at right angles to the crown. The leaves are 1 to 1.5 m long, 18 to 20 cm. The petiole is 17 to 30 cm long, glabrous, and is circular in cross section. The leaflets are slightly silvery when young, yellowish with age. They stand close together and overlap the upper leaf area. Towards the tip and base, the leaflets become smaller but not thorny. The middle leaflets are 10 to 17 cm long and 7 to 8 mm wide. On the underside, 7 to 9 leaf veins are clearly protruding, the leaf edge is not serrated, but the tip of the leaf has a sharp thorn .
The female cones are single or up to six. They are barrel-shaped, 25 to 30 cm long and 15 to 20 cm in diameter. The color of the cone is yellow, but it is covered with yellow-gray to brown wool. The stem is short so that the cone appears seated. The sporophylls are 4.5 to 5 cm long. The side of the sporophyll lying on the surface of the cones is flat, 25 mm high, 45 to 50 mm wide, almost smooth under the wool with the exception of a marginal ridge. The sarcotesta of the seed is pale yellow to pale yellow-orange at maturity. The sclerotesta is long-ovoid to approximately spherical, somewhat flattened, 24 to 33 mm long, 16 to 20 mm in diameter, medium brown, with 10 to 13 flat but distinct longitudinal furrows.
The male cones are three to twelve. They are cylindrical, 20 to 40 cm long with a diameter of 6 to 10 cm, narrower towards the tip and covered with brown wool. The stem is short so that the cone appears seated. The sporophylls are 25 to 28 mm long. The side of the sporophyll on the surface of the cones is 7 mm high and 17 to 20 mm wide, with a beak around 5 mm long. The sporangia form a single patch with a large sterile area at the base and top of the sporophyll.
Distribution and locations
The species is restricted to the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa , where it occurs in the Cathcart and Queenstown districts and extends as far as Kokstad. They grow on mountain slopes and rocky slopes with loose dry vegetation in areas with 375 to 500 mm of annual rainfall, which falls mainly in summer. These are hot, the winters are cold with heavy frosts and snow.
There are no other species of the genus in the area, so that no natural hybrids, but also no artificial ones, are known. The plants produce abundant seeds (up to 1,800 per female plant), which explains the relative abundance in their locations.
In the easily accessible areas, the type of collector, road construction, etc. was practically exterminated. It is still common in areas that are difficult to access. It can be considered endangered.
use
The species is rarely grown in botanical gardens or collections, although it is easy to grow.
Botanical history and systematics
The species was first described in 1834 by Johann Georg Christian Lehmann . The plants of this species were long mistaken for Encephalartos cycadifolius , which had only been described once and whose description matched Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi . After the rediscovery of Encephalartos cycadifolius , these plants were first described as the new species Encephalartos eximius . When it was recognized that these plants corresponded to the first description of Encephalartos cycadifolius , this name was adopted for the Encephalartos eximius plants. The plants previously listed as Encephalartos cycadifolius were described as the new species Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi .
The closest related species are Encephalartos cycadifolius and Encephalartos ghellinckii .
supporting documents
- Loran M. Whitelock: The Cycads. Timber Press, Portland OR 2002, ISBN 0-88192-522-5 , pp. 195 f.
Individual evidence
Web links
- Encephalartos on Cycad Pages of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney.
- Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Listed by: Donaldson, JS, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2014.