Encephalartos ghellinckii

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Encephalartos ghellinckii
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Cycadophyta
Class: Cycadopsida
Order: Cycadales
Family: Zamiaceae
Genus: Encephalartos
Species:
E. ghellinckii
Binomial name
Encephalartos ghellinckii

Encephalartos ghellinckii

veldfires, and also the intense cold brought on by snow and frost.[3]

Distribution

It is found in three distinct and separate areas in

Umkomaas River
, are stunted or dwarf-like and may have up to five trunks, often blackened by grass fires, which are thought to stimulate leaf and cone production. The plants growing in tall grassveld are usually spindly with tall stems, and have a tendency to lean over, often becoming quite procumbent.

Description

Fronds are olive to yellow-green, and about 1m long, while leaflets are narrow (80–140 x 2–4 mm), with strongly revolute margins. Juvenile leaves are covered in greyish wool, becoming glabrous with age. Both male and female lemon-coloured cones are some 25 cm in length, occur in clusters of 2–5, and are densely woolly. Initially believed to be

allomones produced in the early mornings and evenings by both male and female cones.[5][6]

The seeds have a yellow, fleshy covering. The seeds are poisonous, containing the azoxy

glycosides macrozamin and cycasin, and these are also present in the flesh, roots, stems and leaves, though in smaller concentrations. These toxins are characteristic of and exclusive to the cycads, and play an important role in deterring herbivores.[7]

Named for Édouard de Ghellinck de Walle, the 19th Century

Cactaceae
.

Despite its slow growth in cultivation, increasing exploitation, especially of the dwarf form, has led to a sharp decline in numbers and extirpation in some areas, demanding urgent conservation measures.[8][9][10]

Plate accompanying original 1868 description of E. ghellinckii in L'Illustration horticole

References

  1. . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ "Encephalartos ghellinckii - Pacsoa". www.pacsoa.org.au. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
  4. ^ Whitelock, L.M. (2002) The Cycads. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon
  5. .
  6. ^ "Cycads and Beetles : Recent views on pollination - Pierre Jolivet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-30. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
  7. ^ The role of macrozamin and cycasin in cycads as antiherbivore defenses
  8. ^ "KZN Wildlife". Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  9. ^ Cycads of Africa - Douglas Goode (Struik 1989)
  10. ^ "Pollination Drops, Pollen, and Insect Pollination of Mesozoic Gymnosperms (PDF Download Available)". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2017-08-01.

External links