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  • 4 weeks later...

After the latest flush of my Encephalartos horridus (Steytlerville form) x woodii, I am even more impressed with the structure of this cycad.  Add to it attractive leaflets and you have a really stellar hybrid!  It reminds me of a fountain erupting.

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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7 hours ago, Tracy said:

After the latest flush of my Encephalartos horridus (Steytlerville form) x woodii, I am even more impressed with the structure of this cycad.  Add to it attractive leaflets and you have a really stellar hybrid!  It reminds me of a fountain erupting.

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Great form.

Reminds me of my horwood somewhat.

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8 hours ago, Tracy said:

After the latest flush of my Encephalartos horridus (Steytlerville form) x woodii, I am even more impressed with the structure of this cycad.  Add to it attractive leaflets and you have a really stellar hybrid!  It reminds me of a fountain erupting.

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That is just spectacular! Your dog looks like he is especially proud of this cycad.

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El Oasis - beach garden, distinct wet/dry season ,year round 20-38c

Las Heliconias - jungle garden ,800m elevation,150+ inches rainfall, year round 15-28c

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On 5/26/2019 at 5:34 PM, 5150cycad said:

Very nice Tracy. I have noticed that all my latifrons hybrids seem to show more more of the latifrons characteristics with each flush. Here is a picture of my blue arenarius x latifrons. The leaves of the last flush started to recurve. Look forward to seeing all these latifrons hybrids mature. 1BC7B63B-AE1D-40EB-853B-0B62F29D4955.thumb.jpeg.d277cf1248eb8af49923ac955bebe035.jpeg

While I can't say that this Encephalartos (arenarius x horridus) x latifrons is looking more latifrons with each flush, it is looking more twisted with each flush.  This new flush is even more curled up on itself.  I just love it!

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  • 7 months later...

Spring flush right around the corner on this one and the pup.  Still waiting for a gender reveal on it.  It may not be blue, but it sure is spectacular in form.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Deep green and lush, love the way the leaflets overlap on this one.   It looks like all my garden will get another dousing of natural irrigation over the next few days.  I imagine we will see some big flushes when the temps warm and we get further into Spring in the northern hemisphere.  I'm looking forward to it during this shutdown.  So what are you looking forward to flushing in spring or if you are in the southern hemisphere, are you getting one last fling before winter out of your cycads?

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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Lovin' my lehmanii.  It seems as though of the Eastern Cape blues (E horridus, E lehmanii, E princeps & E trispinosis) that both princeps and lehmannii take longer to mature to coning stage than horridus and trispinosis.  This may just be a coincidence in my personal experience but I'm curious if others have observed this.  This lehmanii was at least a couple of year's older than my oldest horridus when I got them both about 14 years ago, yet the horridus is on it's second year coning with nothing yet on this lehmannii.  I have a trispinsosis that I acquired as a band size that reached coning at about 9 years after acquisition (male).  So I'll just have to wait and see but I'm hoping it turns out to be the same as the E horridus cone below... a girl.  That would make me happy!

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Encephalartos princeps showing its great color in the drizzle, with the blue set against a mix of greens.

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Like everyone else, my favorite cycad changes with every five or so steps that I take in the garden. But this horridus  captivates me. 

 

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On 4/9/2020 at 12:22 AM, Sr. Califas said:

Like everyone else, my favorite cycad changes with every five or so steps that I take in the garden. But this horridus  captivates me. 

Nice big horridus armed to the hilt!  So is it male or female.  It takes some time to get a big above ground caudex like that.  It seems that horridus really likes to pull itself down before it starts going up, much like an iceberg.  You will need to walk around your garden and share some other things that captivate and otherwise engage you!  Thanks for sharing and enjoy the quarantine in your happy spot!

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Thank you, it's a boy. And it is probably  "the best" cycad I have. But I'm sure you know that even a little 5-leaf seedling can be captivating.   :winkie:

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18 hours ago, cainester said:

My favorite this morning

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Nice!  Boy or girl?  I pollinated my girl with trispinosis pollen this year because I didn't have any horridus pollen having only one of this species.

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18 hours ago, Tracy said:

Nice!  Boy or girl?  I pollinated my girl with trispinosis pollen this year because I didn't have any horridus pollen having only one of this species.

still waiting.

 

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  • 5 weeks later...

Cycas debaoensis Carlsbad boy may meet Leucadia girl later this summer.  First time for both of them to cone or in the case of the female not really cone but produce megasporophylls.  I'm still waiting on my Cycas thouarsii seeds to ripen on the plant as we approach the 2 year mark later this year, so I know it will take patience after the pollination if I can time it right.  First time coning always pushes a cycad into the favorite position for awhile!  The male plant is only holding one leaf while my female has 7 (3 oldest flush and 4 from most recent flush).

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  • 2 weeks later...

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On 4/5/2020 at 8:02 AM, Tracy said:

Deep green and lush, love the way the leaflets overlap on this one.   It looks like all my garden will get another dousing of natural irrigation over the next few days.  I imagine we will see some big flushes when the temps warm and we get further into Spring in the northern hemisphere.  I'm looking forward to it during this shutdown.  So what are you looking forward to flushing in spring or if you are in the southern hemisphere, are you getting one last fling before winter out of your cycads?

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The flush hasn't hardened off yet, but as the sequence over the last 5 weeks shows, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this one flush.

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4 hours ago, Tracy said:

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The flush hasn't hardened off yet, but as the sequence over the last 5 weeks shows, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this one flush.

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Love the stacking on this hybrid Tracy! Looks to be a very happy plant.  It's interesting to me that with its parentage it isn't showing more spines on the leaves.  Will be interesting to watch it as it matures. 

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14 hours ago, Firepalm said:

Love the stacking on this hybrid Tracy! Looks to be a very happy plant.  It's interesting to me that with its parentage it isn't showing more spines on the leaves.  Will be interesting to watch it as it matures. 

There was quite a bit of diversity from the batch of plants that this plant came from.  I had my eye on this one for a couple of years before it was available because of it's stacking even as a smaller plant.  As you know, with these hybrids they can change as they mature so as you noted it will be fun to see what happens with it.  As far as twisting goes both the Encephalartos blue arenarius x latifrons and the Encephalartos (arenarius x horridus) x latifrons are really twisted sisters/brothers/siblings.  First photo is the E. (blue arenarius x latifrons) and second two are the E (arenarius x horridus) x latifrons.

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This is my current favorite tree.  I mean Cycas.  It looks like something in the Thouarsii/Rumphii/Circinalis group, but I am not sure what type.  I was just out on a bike ride and spotted it at a random house down near Maitland, FL.  They had a couple of other big cycads in the front yard too, but this one is easily 10' crown height. 

1693204940_CycasThouarsiiLongwood.jpg.5f2d29124a660fedd8dca6f7f84c0d3f.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 5/30/2020 at 1:35 PM, Merlyn2220 said:

This is my current favorite tree.  I mean Cycas.  It looks like something in the Thouarsii/Rumphii/Circinalis group, but I am not sure what type.  I was just out on a bike ride and spotted it at a random house down near Maitland, FL. 

I don't think that is a Cycas.  It looks more like a big and old Microcycas calcoma with those abbreviated leaf tips and pendent leaflets.  I have a baby flushing right now.  Leaflets start out tiny in the flush and just keep getting larger.  When the flush on mine is finished pushing and hardens off, the similarities will show.

20200623-BH3I0365.jpg

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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12 hours ago, Tracy said:

I don't think that is a Cycas.  It looks more like a big and old Microcycas calcoma with those abbreviated leaf tips and pendent leaflets.  I have a baby flushing right now.  Leaflets start out tiny in the flush and just keep getting larger.  When the flush on mine is finished pushing and hardens off, the similarities will show.

I see what you mean about the Microcycas Calcoma.  Personally I have no idea how to tell them apart, I have a big something-or-other up front that's just flushed and I still don't know what it is.  But right now it's my favorite so here it is!  :D

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On 5/30/2020 at 1:35 PM, Merlyn2220 said:

This is my current favorite tree.  I mean Cycas.  It looks like something in the Thouarsii/Rumphii/Circinalis group, but I am not sure what type.  I was just out on a bike ride and spotted it at a random house down near Maitland, FL.  They had a couple of other big cycads in the front yard too, but this one is easily 10' crown height. 

1693204940_CycasThouarsiiLongwood.jpg.5f2d29124a660fedd8dca6f7f84c0d3f.jpg

 

13 hours ago, Tracy said:

I don't think that is a Cycas.  It looks more like a big and old Microcycas calcoma with those abbreviated leaf tips and pendent leaflets.  I have a baby flushing right now.  Leaflets start out tiny in the flush and just keep getting larger.  When the flush on mine is finished pushing and hardens off, the similarities will show.

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While my young one above is still pushing it's flush so still is hard to identify, the one I posted from San Diego Zoo has those pendant or downward facing leaflets coming off the rachis and abbreviated tips like the big Microcycas calcoma in your post Merlyn.  I think the difference is the one you posted is growing in a Florida climate as opposed to our dry climate out here.  The cycad in your garden flushing from your last post is some form of Cycas,  Someone more familiar with all the species of Cycas might be able to Id it with photos of the caudex and cone when it cones.  Looks like it is getting close to the right size for that if it hasn't already.

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On 3/30/2019 at 8:10 PM, Tracy said:

I was walking by an enclosure for a large iguana or lizard from Cuba when I noticed on the edge of the enclosure an unusual to see cycad from Cuba:  Microcycas calcoma. 

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Ooops.  for some reason this didn't post with the other two quotes I posted above.  This is the Microcycas calcoma at the San Diego Zoo I was referencing in the post above.

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19 hours ago, GeneAZ said:

Cycas has a midrib.  Microcycas does not.

Are you thinking that the cycad that Merlyn posted is in fact a Cycas or at a minimum would want to see a closeup of the leaflet?  If Cycas, what species?  I know that Cycas is a big family and I know there are many species I'm not familiar with if not most beyond the more commonly available that will grow in my climate.  Your insight is appreciated Gene.

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Yes, an image with closer leaflet detail and petiole detail would do wonders for me.  Also, I think I see a remnant cone among the existing crown area, which detail would be super helpful. 

By no means am I poo-pooing microycas for this magnificent specimen; however, my first gut reaction was Cycas due to the seemingly very long leaf length and the angle of leaflets on the rachis, plus the narrowness of the leaflets.  There's even some very cycas-like wavy-ness to a few terminal leaflets at the blunted ends.

If that midrib is there, it has a feel somewhat like the exeedingly  rare C. scratchleyana -- which is a huge plant.

It is interesting to notice that the aerial offsets along the trunk have no blunted ends and are rather reminiscent of Cycas.  I'm not sure the same offsets forming on Microcycas do that.

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On 5/30/2020 at 1:35 PM, Merlyn2220 said:

I was just out on a bike ride and spotted it at a random house down near Maitland, FL. 

 

2 hours ago, GeneAZ said:

Yes, an image with closer leaflet detail and petiole detail would do wonders for me.  Also, I think I see a remnant cone among the existing crown area, which detail would be super helpful. 

Merlyn it sounds like you have an assignment next time you decide to go out for a bike ride.  We will be looking forward the to seeing the closeups if you can get them. 

33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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3 hours ago, Tracy said:

Merlyn it sounds like you have an assignment next time you decide to go out for a bike ride.  We will be looking forward the to seeing the closeups if you can get them. 

Hah, I saw these posts earlier today and went by there this evening.  It was overcast so the pictures didn't come out great.  I had to overdo the shadows and contrast to get any of the details out of them.  Let me know if these work, or if you want a better picture of any part.  Unfortunately they had trimmed off all the apparent baby sprouts of something from the trunk, and gave it a serious trim.  I'm not sure if the old sprouts on the trunk were baby cycads or some kind of fern-ish thing.  It did look like the base of the petioles was smooth, though it's hard to see from the photos.

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15 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

Hah, I saw these posts earlier today and went by there this evening.  It was overcast so the pictures didn't come out great.  I had to overdo the shadows and contrast to get any of the details out of them.  Let me know if these work, or if you want a better picture of any part.  Unfortunately they had trimmed off all the apparent baby sprouts of something from the trunk, and gave it a serious trim.  I'm not sure if the old sprouts on the trunk were baby cycads or some kind of fern-ish thing.  It did look like the base of the petioles was smooth, though it's hard to see from the photos.

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So when I opened the first photo file and looked at it zoomed in, the leaflets appear to have a mid-rib.  That would immediately rule out Microcycas, so it must be some species of Cycas.  I took close ups to clarify what Gene was looking for on the leaflets.  First the Microcycas calcoma leaflets pictured followed by a few Cycas (debaoensis, tropophylla x micholitzii, szechuanensis ssp fairylakea, and thouarsii x cupida).  No mid-ribs on the Mc leaflets, but all the Cycas have a mid rib in the leaflets visible.

Now as to what species of Cycas, Gene or someone else may be able to weigh in.  I've actually been known to try to catch someone outside working in their garden to ask about plants but rarely been bold enough to walk up to someone's door to ask.  Maybe you are bolder than I am?

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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So Merlyn's plant image is definitely cycas, and probably female from the looks of the cone remnants I think I see in the crown.

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2 hours ago, Tracy said:

So when I opened the first photo file and looked at it zoomed in, the leaflets appear to have a mid-rib.  That would immediately rule out Microcycas, so it must be some species of Cycas.  I took close ups to clarify what Gene was looking for on the leaflets.  First the Microcycas calcoma leaflets pictured followed by a few Cycas (debaoensis, tropophylla x micholitzii, szechuanensis ssp fairylakea, and thouarsii x cupida).  No mid-ribs on the Mc leaflets, but all the Cycas have a mid rib in the leaflets visible.

Now as to what species of Cycas, Gene or someone else may be able to weigh in.  I've actually been known to try to catch someone outside working in their garden to ask about plants but rarely been bold enough to walk up to someone's door to ask.  Maybe you are bolder than I am?

I can confirm that they do have a midrib, it appears to be prominent on the bottom and pale.  The bottom of the leaves are definitely lighter on the bottom than on the top.  I'm not sure if the top of the leaf has a prominent midrib or flat, I'd have to look at that again.  Based on this I was thinking either Thouarsii or Rumphii, since Circinalis supposedly has a flat midrib on the bottom of the leaf.  I think Seemannii is similar coloration top and bottom, not "strongly discolorous" like this plant.  But I might have my definitions mixed up above, please correct me if I got them wrong! :D

I have never seen anyone at the house, though it's clear it is well maintained and someone lives there.  If it weren't for the covid thing, I would definitely go knock on the door and ask about the plants.  Maybe once covid fades away I'll get a chance!

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  • 2 weeks later...

My Encephalartos ferox is giving me two huge female cones. Unfortunately non of my other encephalartos are yet of coning age to give me pollen to activate it once it opens up.
 

FeroxCone.jpg


Sure is impressive to see


Richard

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1 hour ago, GDLWyverex said:


Sure is impressive to see

and very colorful too!  The red cones on this species contrast so nicely with the deep green leaves!

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I only currently own two cycad species, including Zamia integrifolia and Zamia furfuracea.  Also, my knowlege of cycads is very limited and I have only grown one other species, Cycas revoluta.

I would have to say that considering my interest in epiphytes and in rare plants in general that my favorite species of cycad is Zamia pseudoparasitica, a tree-dwelling cycad species native to Panama and uncommonly seen for sale.  I recall seeing a specimen in a hanging basket at the Searle Brother's Sale at least once.

Photo Credit:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/502714377146443347/

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