I rescued this cycad from from a landfill and repotted it in its own container as it was overgrown by weeds and decorative flowers. It is now in cycad potting soil mixed with a bit of normal potting soil. I am trying to revive it but I need a plant ID to see what I am working with. It is definitely a species of Encephalartos but cannot ID the specie with accuracy. The leaf shape looks like a horidus but the colour is throwing me off. It’s very yellow at this point due to previous neglect.

Anyone with any guesses?

@Psycad welcome to Palmtalk! I'm not great at ID'ing the South African Encephalartos. So I have a hard time telling Arenarious from Horridus and Trispinosus. That's mostly because they hate my climate's dily torrential thunderstorms and tend to get root or crown rots. It could also be a hybrid like the naturally occuring Trispinosus x Altensteinii. If you can get a healthy next flush it should be easier to ID. Regardless of what it is, that's a great find!

On 8/14/2026 at 1:36 AM, Psycad said:

I rescued this cycad from from a landfill and repotted it in its own container as it was overgrown by weeds and decorative flowers. It is now in cycad potting soil mixed with a bit of normal potting soil. I am trying to revive it but I need a plant ID to see what I am working with. It is definitely a species of Encephalartos but cannot ID the specie with accuracy. The leaf shape looks like a horidus but the colour is throwing me off. It’s very yellow at this point due to previous neglect.

Anyone with any guesses?

I agree with Merlyn that some of its characteristics will be more apparent with a new flush, such as the color. In addition to looking at the leaves, examining their collars can be helpful. It is somewhat reminiscent of an Encephalartos longifolius × horridus i am growing.

@Merlyn I thought it looked like a Horidus as well! We’re not that far off though.

I got an expert ID on it, turns out it is an Encephalartos Trispinosus, a species very similar to Horidus. Now I just need to get it healthy again to see if I got the blue or green variant. The base of the leaflets looks like it could have a slight blue colour.