E. Horridus Steytlerville Form

[xpeditions]

Hi All,

Just planted this E. Horridus "Steytlerville Form ". Wondering if anyone has pictures of more mature plants, information online is pretty sparse. 

Curious as to whether it tends to pick up a more traditional horridus look as it matures? From what I understand, some feel that this is a naturally occurring hybrid between E. Horridus and E. Lehmannii.

 

[Tracy]

23 hours ago, xpeditions said:

E. Horridus "Steytlerville Form ". Wondering if anyone has pictures of more mature plants, information online is pretty sparse. 

Curious as to whether it tends to pick up a more traditional horridus look as it matures? From what I understand, some feel that this is a naturally occurring hybrid between E. Horridus and E. Lehmannii.

Leaves tend to pick up length from the Encephalartos lehmannii, while mine at least has less twist on the leaflets than conventional horridus would have.  Yes, I too have heard that the Steytlerville form is the result of naturally occurring hybridization, but it is a stable form reproducing from other Steytlerville plants at this time. This is different than saying you will get a Steytlerville form simply by crossing E horridus and E lehmannii.  I don't know that anyone has an answer on when it became a stable form, perhaps genetic analysis might reveal something.  A friend shared that he has tried crossing horridus and lehmannii.  While getting interesting offspring, they never quite looked like a Steytlerville is what I recall he shared.

Speaking of crosses and Steytlerville horridus, I have posted photos of an E horridus Steytlerville x E woodii.  I've also seen the regular E horridus x E woodii hybrid and much prefer the look of the Steytlerville form.  The influence of the lehmanii again gives the Steytlerville form a longer leaf and more formal structure than the regular horridus hybrid.

Bottom line, I think you will love having your E horridus Steytlerville form, but grow a regular E horridus too so you can enjoy the distinct characteristics of each!

[Tracy]

A couple of comparisons between a regular Encephalartos horridus  (with female cone) and the E horridus Steytlerville are below.  Shown from the side you can see the more formal structure of the Steytlerville, but also the decreased barbed wire fence feel.  There are tradeoffs,, but my solution is grow both!

[Palm Tree Jim]

8 hours ago, Tracy said:

A couple of comparisons between a regular Encephalartos horridus  (with female cone) and the E horridus Steytlerville are below.  Shown from the side you can see the more formal structure of the Steytlerville, but also the decreased barbed wire fence feel.  There are tradeoffs,, but my solution is grow both!

Great solution!

[Tracy]

5 minutes ago, Palm Tree Jim said:

Great solution! 

Thanks Jim.  Are you growing the Steytlerville form in your garden, and if so can you share a photo?

[xpeditions]

Hi Tracy,

Thank you for sharing your pics of your E. Horridus. Both are spectacular! 

The difference in adult characteristics is more dramatic than I would have expected. It's nice to be able to view the regional variation within one species. Have you noticed any difference in growth rate? 

I agree, collecting all forms is the best solution  Looking forward to when mine are as impressive as yours are.... its going to be a while... haha

- Ryan

[Palm Tree Jim]

One of mine. 

[Tracy]

4 hours ago, xpeditions said:

Have you noticed any difference in growth rate?

 

1 hour ago, Palm Tree Jim said:

One of mine. 

Beautiful plant Jim!  Perhaps you can answer better than I can on the growth rate comparison for Ryan.  While I've had the standard E horridus since it was in a band and watched it grow, my Steytlerville is a relatively new addition, so I don't have enough experience yet to answer.

[Palm Tree Jim]

14 hours ago, Tracy said:

 

Beautiful plant Jim!  Perhaps you can answer better than I can on the growth rate comparison for Ryan.  While I've had the standard E horridus since it was in a band and watched it grow, my Steytlerville is a relatively new addition, so I don't have enough experience yet to answer.

New plant for me Tracy and I planted it about 12 months ago. Still waiting on the first flush.

Unfortunately,  no information regarding growth rates at this time.

[Tracy]

On 4/17/2019 at 6:30 AM, Palm Tree Jim said:

New plant for me Tracy and I planted it about 12 months ago. Still waiting on the first flush.

Unfortunately,  no information regarding growth rates at this time.

Jim, how is your E horridus "Steytlerville" form looking?  The flush on both the main caudex and pup on mine are just now hardening off.  One can definitely see the lehmanii influence in this form.  I like the longer leaves this form has compared to the traditional form I'm growing (shown as it is currently flushing in second photo).

[Palm Tree Jim]

Thanks for reminding me Tracy on this plant. Just took this picture this morning and the new flush is just starting to harden off. I was surprised at how tall the new leaves are and that the form is very consistent.

So much different then my other forms of horridus.

 

[xpeditions]

Great to see these established plants - Mine is really putting on growth, with 3 flushes in the last year. Seems much more robust than my other "standard" form horridus.