Encephalartos schmitzii
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Mutinondo Wilderness Area
Aug 2002
Photo: Mike Bingham
Katanga Province, DRC;
Jan 2008
Photo: Jos Stevens
Katanga Province, DRC;
Jan 2008
Photo: Jos Stevens
Katanga Province, DRC;
Jan 2008
Photo: Jos Stevens
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Species details: Click on each item to see an explanation of that item (Note: opens a new window)
| Synonyms: | |
| Common names: | Schmitz’s cycad (English) |
| Frequency: | locally common |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
Plants nearly acaulescent with a stem up to 0.3 m tall and 20 cm diameter. Leaves up to 9 in the crown, 40-60 cm long, blue green, strongly keeled; rhachis green, straight with last third sharply recurved, not spirally twisted; petiole straight, with 1-6 prickles; leaf-base collar absent; basal leaflets reduced to spines. Leaflets linear, weakly discolorous, not overlapping, not lobed, inserted at an angle of more than 45 (up to 80) degrees; margins flat; upper margin entire, or with 1-3 teeth; lower margin entire or with 1-3 teeth; median leaflets 10-14 cm long and 8-10 mm wide. Pollen cones 1-3, ovoid or narrowly ovoid, bluish-green or green, 8-10 cm long and 3-4 cm in diameter. Seed cones solitary, ovoid, blue-green or green, 20-25 cm long and 10-12 cm in diameter. Seeds ovoid or oblong, 20-25 mm long and 20-25 mm wide, sarcotesta orange. |
| Type location: |
DRC, Katanga Province |
| Notes: | Reported to be common in parts of Katanga (Jos Stevens, pers. comm.) |
| Derivation of specific name: | schmitzii: after Andre Schmitz, plant collector, who found the first specimen, a single male plant, in 1955. |
| Habitat: | Miombo woodland; the plants are fire adapted |
| Altitude range: (metres) | |
| Flowering time: | |
| Worldwide distribution: | DR Congo and Zambia. |
| Botanical divisions: | |
| Growth form(s): | |
| Endemic status: | |
| Red data list status: | |
| Insects associated with this species: | |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Literature: |
Goode, D. (2001). Cycads of Africa Vol. 1. Cycads of Africa Cape Town Malaisse, F. (1969). Encephalartos schmitzii Malaisse, Cycadacee nouvelle du Congo-Kinshasa Bull. Jard. Bot. Natl. Belg. 39(4) Pages 401 - 406. Protologue (Includes a picture). Vollesen, K. & Merrett, L. (2019). Field Guide to the (wetter) Zambian Miombo Woodland. Part 1 (Ferns & Monocots) GVPedia Communications Page 110. (Includes a picture). |
Other sources of information about Encephalartos schmitzii:
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Flora of Zambia: Encephalartos schmitziiExternal websites:
African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Encephalartos schmitziiAfrican Plant Database: Encephalartos schmitzii
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Encephalartos schmitzii
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Encephalartos schmitzii
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Encephalartos schmitzii
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Encephalartos schmitzii
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Encephalartos schmitzii
JSTOR Plant Science: Encephalartos schmitzii
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Encephalartos schmitzii
Plants of the World Online: Encephalartos schmitzii
Tropicos: Encephalartos schmitzii
Wikipedia: Encephalartos schmitzii