Nicest E. horridus I have ever seen...

[joe_OC]

Saw this pic on the internet. It has made me a big fan of E. horridus now!

[Gonzer]

Nicest E. horridus I have ever seen

I'm gonna second that...for a potted specimen.

[freakypalmguy]

Wow, that is nice Joe. I have never seen one with an elevated caudex like that. I wonder if it did that on it's own?

[MattyB]

A neighbor of mine, not Bob, just bought an E. horridus that looks just like that from Jungle Music. No wierd trunk thingy but the size and form was perfect and it was sooooooo white and silver. I was blown away and have seriously added horridus to my want list. Now if I just had an extra grand lying around...........

[LJG]

Done on purpose Matt (freaky one).

Matt (guy with flower in his avatar one) - don't think the crazy prices you see here for E. Horridus are the norm. These are common cycads now - well as far as cycads go. I know tons of places you can get then for cheap. 3 inch caudex for $250 or less. Trust me, the prices here are NOT the norm! Also, these things grow fast in the ground. I bought a 2 inch caudex 3 years ago. It has flushed twice sometimes and is now like 8 inches. So get it smaller, put it in ground, and it will reward you.

[MattyB]

OK cool! The one I saw this weekend at my neighbor's was just about out to the edge of a 14" pot. I'd say 11"-12" caudex. Oh, man was it silver and spice and everything nice.

[joe_OC]

Yes, I have caught the cycad bug too...

Len, you are right on the money when it comes to buying E. horridus. What about E. princeps? Are they hard to find? I had asked in a separate post about pricing and no one had responded.

[freakypalmguy]

Yes, I have caught the cycad bug too...

Len, you are right on the money when it comes to buying E. horridus. What about E. princeps? Are they hard to find? I had asked in a separate post about pricing and no one had responded.

Princeps is still tougher to come by and will cost ya more. I think mine is kicking the bucket after too much moisture over winter

[LJG]

I will PM you tonight. I referred Matt to the same guy. Matt was stoked he said. he is very well priced and under what you find here or other places. He has E. princeps. Seed grown. No phallic offsets.

Yes, I have caught the cycad bug too...

Len, you are right on the money when it comes to buying E. horridus. What about E. princeps? Are they hard to find? I had asked in a separate post about pricing and no one had responded.

[vito]

Saw this pic on the internet. It has made me a big fan of E. horridus now!

Wow what a caudex ....

[virtualpalm]

Saw this pic on the internet. It has made me a big fan of E. horridus now!

I really hate to rain on anyone's parade, but I see a couple issues with this plant that I would like to comment on. The most obvious issue is the odd, thin caudex segment below the "normal" caudex. It looks as though a poorly treated sucker was suddenly thrust into a high-N situation that caused the top of the caudex to swell abnormally. I personally think it would look much better if it was buried halfway up the swollen part of the caudex.

The other "problem" that I see is that this plant looks much more like a blue E. arenarius than an E. horridus -- which actually is not necessarily a bad thing unless you are wanting a true E. horridus.

Jody

[joe_OC]

Saw this pic on the internet. It has made me a big fan of E. horridus now!

I really hate to rain on anyone's parade, but I see a couple issues with this plant that I would like to comment on. The most obvious issue is the odd, thin caudex segment below the "normal" caudex. It looks as though a poorly treated sucker was suddenly thrust into a high-N situation that caused the top of the caudex to swell abnormally. I personally think it would look much better if it was buried halfway up the swollen part of the caudex.

The other "problem" that I see is that this plant looks much more like a blue E. arenarius than an E. horridus -- which actually is not necessarily a bad thing unless you are wanting a true E. horridus.

Jody

Thanks, Jody...

I don't know much about cycads. I actually thought the thin trunk was kinda cool looking. It looks hard and firm, but thanks for educating me that this is not a good thing.

[LJG]

It looks like E. horridus to me.

[Jeff Searle]

I'm looking for the "wide" leaf form. Anyone know where one can buy one? Please, no seedlings in a 15gallon size pot though.

Jeff

[MattyB]

Jeff, you are a stinker. Nice snarkasm by the way.

[Shon]

I'm looking for a monkey to do odd jobs for me. Anyone know where I can get one?

[Jeff Searle]

Jeff, you are a stinker. Nice snarkasm by the way.

hmmmm, paul seems to think i joined his book club and keeps sending a new one every month. he's the snarkasm king, but rights a damn good book on this subject.

Jeff

[gsn]

This now FAMOUS monkey is for HIRE!

But I am working on getting him an agent/manager,so he doesn't get taken advantage of in the future!

[virtualpalm]

It looks like E. horridus to me.

Len,

A good friend who is well-versed in both blue E. arenarius and E. horridus had the following to say about this plant:

"No doubt blue Arenarius. I think the plant is from a wild collected caudex sucker buried in the sand. Once rooted it becomes a fat plant. The lack of leaf bases and the abundent cataphylls make me think it was dormant under the ground."

I agree with him completely (sadly!).

Jody

[Cycadcenter]

Well I'd have to say it is a horridus, it looks like a horridus from the Steytlerville area which may in fact be a natural hybrid between horridus and lehmannii. There were a lot of these plants imported and distributed several years ago and many collections have them as they were available from Loran and us.

Notice how the leaves are held in a more upright form typical of a lehmannii compared with the recurved leaves of a typical horridus. Also notice that about the lower third of the leaflets have no lobes, this again is typical of the Steytlerville horridus. The cones on these plants tend to be similar to a typical horridus.

As for the caudex, I've seen a couple of plants like this and it's not a recommended growing method.

Bruce

The Cycad Center

[George Sparkman]

I would also lean towards horridus - but standing between arenarius & horridus with lehmannii structure.

When I first saw the picture I thought "unusually straight" leaves for a horridus.

After Jody's post I thought maybe arenarius

and then I looked at some of my fieldgrown stuff

("blueform" arenaius,blueleaf arenarius,arenarius,arenarius x horridus,horridus x arenarius,horridus - all kind of shapes and sizes)

Now the only thing I know for sure is that it is an Eastern Cape plant (oneway,twoway or even threeway mix).

I have seen man-made lehmannii x horridus hybrids with that look.

It is not easy to be sure but I would expect the cones to be red/brown and not greenish.

Bottom line - it is a great looking Encephalartos species (well, the top part).

It is most likely a rooted offset that was growing below soil-level and developed that "mushroom look".

Happy confusion,

George Sparkman

Cycads-n-Palms.com

[Fouquieria]

Here's a nice pic of Encephalartos horridus that I took at Quail Botanical Garden in Encinitas. Is this what they refer to as the "magnificent" form of horridus? Anyway, I like the real spiney look. Wish I had one.

[tropicalb]

I would also lean towards horridus - but standing between arenarius & horridus with lehmannii structure.

When I first saw the picture I thought "unusually straight" leaves for a horridus.

After Jody's post I thought maybe arenarius

and then I looked at some of my fieldgrown stuff

("blueform" arenaius,blueleaf arenarius,arenarius,arenarius x horridus,horridus x arenarius,horridus - all kind of shapes and sizes)

Now the only thing I know for sure is that it is an Eastern Cape plant (oneway,twoway or even threeway mix).

I have seen man-made lehmannii x horridus hybrids with that look.

It is not easy to be sure but I would expect the cones to be red/brown and not greenish.

Bottom line - it is a great looking Encephalartos species (well, the top part).

It is most likely a rooted offset that was growing below soil-level and developed that "mushroom look".

Happy confusion,

George Sparkman

Cycads-n-Palms.com

and George nails it on the head. Happy confusion indeed.

I have seen horridus that look like arenarius (and vice-versa), trispinosus that look like horridus (and vice-versa), long leafed trispinosus (as well as "spineless tri's) that look like lehmannii's on steroids....fat leafed lehmannii's that look a lot like princeps, etc. etc. etc.

Buy a plant because you like the way it looks. If you're looking to buy as an investment, do your homework first.

In any event, you're not going to know 100% for sure what you've got 'til it cones....and that could be a long wait.

[Tracy]

On 3/16/2009 at 10:02 PM, joe_OC said:

Saw this pic on the internet. It has made me a big fan of E. horridus now!

 

So I wonder what the cone on this ended up looking like; whether it was green like horridus, or the more red/brown that George speculated it would be.  Someone speculated it could be the Encephalartos horridus Steytlerville form, which is how I came across the thread.  I was looking for photos of other Steytlerville forms, as mine is about to flush for the first time since I put it in the ground in May 2018.  I think it just needed to get settled in with some healthy roots, as the flush looks good and the pup off to the side also appears close to pushing out a flush.

 

On 3/19/2009 at 12:14 PM, George Sparkman said:

("blueform" arenaius,blueleaf arenarius,arenarius,arenarius x horridus,horridus x arenarius,horridus - all kind of shapes and sizes)

Now the only thing I know for sure is that it is an Eastern Cape plant (oneway,twoway or even threeway mix).

I have seen man-made lehmannii x horridus hybrids with that look.

It is not easy to be sure but I would expect the cones to be red/brown and not greenish.

 

Bottom line - it is a great looking Encephalartos species (well, the top part).

It is most likely a rooted offset that was growing below soil-level and developed that "mushroom look".

 

Happy confusion,

I was thinking about George's comments about happy confusion as I looked at my little Encephalartos (blue form arenarius x latifrons).  I don't really think if I would have guessed the parentage if I didn't know (see last photo).  So Happy Hybrid Confusion!

[Tracy]

The nicest horridus is normally when pushing a flush, but this is pretty great too.  The orange seeds contrast nicely as the female cone starts to fall apart against the blue of the leaves!

[Palm Tree Jim]