ENCEPHALARTOS ITURIENSIS SUPER RARE CENTRAL AFRICAN CYCAD

LONG UPRIGHT GREEN LEAVES

This species is native to the Ituri Forest in the Congo in Central Africa. It is extremely rare to see it offered for sale. This cycad would not be as cold hardy as plants further south in South Africa. But, it should take weather into the mid-twenties F. E. ituriensis is known for its long, upright leaves reaching well over twelve to fourteen feet tall. It towers over E. whitelockii in terms of length. Leaflets are armed and narrow. The plants on special are four years old and carrying about four leaves. They are four to five years old. If you search the Net for photos of this species, they are essentially nonexistent. This is because of political instability of the area, remote native location and the risk of Ebola infection. Certainly, this has hampered availability of this species worldwide.

The photos below show a 15 gallon plant with long leaves and an 8 inch caudex. It is shown in the first seven photos below. We are putting this actual plant on sale. Remember, it’s very difficult to find this species, especially with size. We may have a few smaller plants in stock.

Presently I only have one nice 15 gallon specimen. The last photo shows a plant we sold about a decade ago that was much larger with longer leaves. Unfortunately, this sale plant has too long of leaves to ship without pruning down the leaves. The 8th photo is c/o Wikipedia Commons.