Notes

Outline

Growing and Collecting Cycads A.J. Cilliers

What Are Cycads? Cycads walked with dinosaurs!! Cycads are living fossils Male and female plants, carrying cones Occur in colonies in nature Pollination by wind and                         insects VERY slow growing                              plants

Where Do Cycads Grow? Cycads grow in tropical and temperate climates worldwide

Why Are They Called “Broodbome” or “Bread Trees”? Cycads are called bread trees because the stem consists of starch, and they were eaten by indigenous people, and are still used as “muthi” to this day!! It has nothing to do                                    with the cones

How Old Do Cycads Become? Many hundreds of years, even thousands

What Are Cycads Worth? Cycads are rare and very slow growing Everybody wants a mature specimen, particularly a female Price will depend on size of the trunk (stem), sex and species Value: anything from R20                             to R100 000

Cycad Biology Tough, often spiny leaves Starchy fibrous trunk Three root types: anchoring roots, lateral roots and coralloid roots for nitrogen fixation Cycads are diaceous Male and female cones or                  sporophylls (Cycas)

Cycas revoluta megasporophyll

Cycas revoluta male cone

Encephalartos Female cones

Encephalartos Male Cones

Classification Order: Cycadales, Suborder: Zamiineae Families: Cycadaceae, Stangeriaceae, Zamiaceae Genera: Cycas, Stangeria, Bowenia, Dioon, Encephalartos, Macrozamia, Lepidozamia, Ceratozamia, Microcycas, Zamia and Chigua

Genus Cycas

Genus Lepidozamia

Genus Zamia

Genus Macrozamia

Genus Stangeria

Genus Bowenia

Genus Dioon

Genus Encephalartos

Genus Ceratozamia

Genus Microcycas

Genus Chigua

What grows in South Africa? Stangeria eriopus, the only species in the genus, grows in Natal and Mpumalanga

Stangeria

What Grows in SA? Encephalartos, the most beautiful of them all!! Approximately 64 species – limited to Africa In SA we have 39 Encephalartos species

Let’s Talk About Encephalartos In SA cycads grow in Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Northern Province Some are forest species and others very cold and drought tolerant Difficult to collect in Potch! Frost, hail, harsh sun!!!

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Growing Cycads Cycads can be grown from seed (sexual repr.) Or suckers (basal offsets {asexual})

Growing Cycads From Seed Artificial pollination of a female garden plant (fertile for 7-10 days) Wet or dry pollination Seed development within cone (6 mths) Cone disintegration & seed release Embryo development (6 mths) Seed germination (3 mths)

Artificial Pollination

Seed release, E. ferox

Cleaning Seed & Seed Biology

Growing Seedlings Germination in river sand Seed placed upon soil surface Soil mixture: ½  river sand,                         ¼ compost, ¼ garden soil Radicle splits and leaf emerges

Germinating cycad seed

First Leaf!!!

Seedlings

Growing Cycads From Offsets Offsets are same sex as parent plant Cut offset from parent plant when offset has leaves and is about tennis ball size Seal parent plant with Steriseal & allow to dry Give offset a “clean” cut, rooting powder and Steriseal & allow to dry Plant in very well drained (sandy) soil

Cycad offsets/suckers

Cycad offsets/suckers

The Legal Issues!!! Need proof of legal purchase for any indigenous cycad Need nature conservation permit for any “Transvaal” plant larger than 15cm caudex Need permit to grow/deal in indigenous cycads Removal from nature?  No, no, no, no CITES very strictly                                            controls world trade

Caring for Your Cycad “Aphicide” for mealy bug and scale – not Oleum Don’t “love them to death”!! When transplanting, seal all wounds C. revoluta – full sun Encephalartos – beware                              of frost & excessive sun

I also like: Lithops

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..and Haworthia

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