Stangeria S. eriopus Encephalartos E. aemulans E. altensteinii E. arenarius E. brevifoliolatus E. caffer E. cerinus E. cupidus E. cycadifolius E. dolomiticus E. dyerianus E. eugene-maraisii E. ferox E. friderici-guilielmi E. ghellinckii E. heenanii E. hirsutus E. horridus E. humilis E. inopinus E. laevifolius E. lanatus E. latifrons E. lebomboensis E. lehmannii E. longifolius E. middelburgensis E. msinganus E. natalensis E. ngoyanus E. nubimontanus E. paucidentatus E. princeps E. senticosus E. transvenosus E. trispinosus E. villosus E. woodii E. aplanatus E. relictus E. umbeluziensis E. manikensis E. concinnus E. chimanimaniensis E. gratus E. munchii E. pterogonus E. turneri

S. eriopus E. aemulans E. altensteinii E. arenarius E. brevifoliolatus E. caffer E. cerinus E. cupidus E. cycadifolius E. dolomiticus E. dyerianus E. eugene-maraisii E. ferox E. friderici-guilielmi E. ghellinckii E. heenanii E. hirsutus E. horridus E. humilis E. inopinus E. laevifolius E. lanatus E. latifrons E. lebomboensis E. lehmannii E. longifolius E. middelburgensis E. msinganus E. natalensis E. ngoyanus E. nubimontanus E. paucidentatus E. princeps E. senticosus E. transvenosus E. trispinosus E. villosus E. woodii E. aplanatus E. relictus E. umbeluziensis E. manikensis E. concinnus E. chimanimaniensis E. gratus E. munchii E. pterogonus E. turneri

Division: Cycadophyta

Class: Cycadopsida

Order: Cycadales

Family: Zamiaceae

Genus: Encephalartos

Species: E. longifolius

Conservation Status:

E. longifolius

Suurberg Cycad

Encephalartos longifolius, also known as the Suurberg Cycad or Thunberg's Cycad, is a low-growing palm-like cycad that is endemic to South Africa. The species name comes from the Latin longis, long and folius, leaf. This species is found in coastal regions of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa growing at heights of up to six hundred metres. It grows in a variety of different habitats on the mountain ridges from west of Joubertina in the Kouga mountains east to near Grahamstown. There are a large number of locations where breadpalms grow but on the whole, populations are declining.

Interesting Note: This was the first cycad seen by the early colonists pushing eastwards. This was Thunberg's breadtree; and this species almost changed the course of South African history for its seeds nearly killed General Smuts and men of a Boer commando in the eastern Cape during the Anglo-Boer War. Colonel Deneys Reitz writes in his book Commando how Smuts and his men, camping on the Suurberg, were poisoned after eating the seeds of Encephalartos altensteinii. Botanists today know that Reitz mistook the species, and that it was Thunberg's breadtree that poisoned the party.

The stems, which are mostly erect, can reach a height of 4.5 m. Branching rarely occurs, but up to 10 stems may originate from the base.

The young leaves are covered in fine hairs that disappear later. The leaves are 1-2 m in length and are mostly glossy and dark green. The last third of the leaf curves strongly downwards giving the crown a relatively compact umbrella shape. The leaflets may be moderately spaced, but can sometimes overlap and they can be up to 200 mm long. The edges of the leaflets are normally smooth but can sometimes have 1-3 teeth on the lower margin. The tip terminates in a sharp spine or it can be rounded.

Encephalartos longifolius cones are very large and are of the heaviest of all the South African cycads, with female cones weighing up to 36 kg. The male plants bear up to 3 greenish brown cones that are 400-600 x 150-200 mm. The females bear 1 (rarely 2) olive-green cones that are 500-600 x 400 mm.