Encephalartos Longifolius x Woodii?

[Billeb]

I got a tiny strap leaf nearly 3yrs ago labeled “Enc. Long x Wood”. I’ve done a bunch of research and I haven’t been able to find any examples of this cross at all. I finally decided to plant it out today. Could this actually be a LongWood or is it likely another cross? Some leaflets have shown to be genetic defects or irregular like mutant & crested. The entire plant has the hardest leaflets I’ve ever felt, almost weird. 

It has grown quite a bit since purchase though and as you can see, the tap root looks healthy. 

What say you? Show yours if you got one!! 
 

-dale 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Looks interesting. Keep it alive and in a few years its characteristics and form will become more prominent. Not one I’ve ever heard of either but both parents have attractive features so i’d assume it will grow into something big and beautiful.

[Urban Rainforest]

That is a very unique looking hybrid! I do see the characteristics of both parents in the leaves. I have 4 differant Woodii hybrids but I have never seen this hybrid before! I can tell how thick the leaflets are from the pics. Cant wait to see it as it matures!

[GeneAZ]

I've heard of this before from the South African forum, now on Facebook.  The longi x woodii crosses  I've seen in SA are better looking cross than those with natalensis.  I know that the goal with breeding to natalensis was to achieve a quicker woodii look-alike, but the largest woodii I've seen seem more longi appearing than natalensis.  So we're back to personal preference.

[Tracy]

3 hours ago, GeneAZ said:

I know that the goal with breeding to natalensis was to achieve a quicker woodii look-alike, but the largest woodii I've seen seem more longi appearing than natalensis.  So we're back to personal preference.

I just want to add, that I look forward to watching Dale's plant grow, it should be a beautiful specimen that will also require some planning on space.

I've seen specimens of woodii crossed with natalensis, transvenosus, arenarius and horridus.   While I like them all, the least interesting is probably the natalensis cross, which I've seen in both f1 and f2 versions.  I'm excited to see what comes of last year's pollination of my E horridus x woodii with woodii pollen.  If any of the seeds pop, it will be years before we get an idea of what the offspring will look like, but the wait hasn't dampened my enthousiasm.  

With 1 latifrons, and 2 (arenarius x latifrons) x latifrons which are getting bigger, I will probably end up with some pollen I can use on the horridus x woodii, which is the other cross that will be interesting.