Encephalartos woodii
Encyclopedia
Wood's Cycad is a cycad
in the genus Encephalartos
, and is endemic
to the Ongoye Forest
of KwaZulu-Natal
, South Africa
. It is one of the rarest plants in the world, being extinct in the wild
with all specimen
s being clones
of the type. The specific and common name
both honour John Medley Wood
, curator of the Durban Botanic Garden
and director of the Natal Government Herbarium of South Africa, who discovered the specimen in 1895.
are glossy and dark green, 150 – in length, and keeled with 70–150 leaflet
s, the leaflets falcate (sickle-shaped), 13 – long and 20 – broad.
E. woodii is dioecious
, meaning it has separate male and female plants, however no female plant has ever been discovered. The male strobili
are cylindrical, 20 – long, exceptionally up to 120 centimetres (47.2 in), and 15 – in diameter; they are a vivid yellow-orange colour. A single plant may bear from around six to eight simultaneously.
of E. altensteinii (as E. altensteinii var. bispinna), and raised to the rank of species in 1908 by the English horticulturalist Henry Sander
from studying a specimen in his collection, which was apparently one of the basal offsets taken from the original clump. It has been considered that Encephalartos woodii is most closely related to E. natalensis. Some authorities consider E. woodii to not be a true species
but rather a mutant
E. natalensis or a relic of some other species. Yet others consider this plant to be a natural hybrid between E. natalensis and E. ferox
. To determine the relationship between E. natalensis and E. woodii, the RAPD
technique was used to generate genetic fingerprints and data analysed using distance methods. Based on RAPD fingerprints, the intraspecific
genetic variation among different E. natalensis plants is similar to the interspecific
variation between E. natalensis and E. woodii, which confirms the close relationship between E. natalensis and E. woodii.
name of Ongoye, which is in KwaZulu-Natal
, South Africa. The site where this plant was found was on a steep south-facing slope on the fringes of the forest. The annual rainfall at the site ranges between 750 –, and the climate has hot summers and mild winters.
.jpg)
A basal offset of the main stems was removed and sent to Kew Gardens in 1899. Three basal offsets were collected by Wood's deputy, James Wylie, in 1903 and planted in the Durban Botanic Garden
s. One specimen was received at the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland in Glasnevin
in 1905 where the register records it as "Encephalartos way of E. Alten[steinii]" costing 1 guinea
from Sander & Sons
. In a 1907 expedition, Wylie collected two of the larger stems and noted that of the remaining two, one of them (the largest of the four original stems) was badly mutilated and he did not expect it to survive. By 1912 there was only one 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall trunk left in the wild, and in 1916, the Forestry Department arranged to have it removed and sent to the Government Botanist in Pretoria
. It is thought that this trunk subsequently died in 1964.
near Cape Town
, South Africa in 1916 by James Wylie. The plant that was sent to Kew Gardens in 1899 was grown in the Palm House until April 1997 and then moved to the Temperate House where it produced, for the first time, a male cone in September 2004. In the United States
; a specimen is housed in the conservatory at Longwood Gardens
near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and three specimens are to be seen at Lotus Land in Santa Barbara, California
where they were planted in 1979. The specimen at Longwood Gardens was received in 1969 after a request was made to the Durban Botanic Gardens by one of Longwood’s former directors, Dr. Russell Seibert, when he went on a plant exploration voyage to South Africa in the 1960s. The rooted plant was first taken to the Research Department at Longwood where the gardeners nurtured the plant until it was ready to be displayed in the Conservatory. The Longwood specimen produces cones in early winter. In Europe
; a specimen is housed in the Netherlands at Hortus Botanicus
in Amsterdam
and in Orto Botanico di Napoli in Italy
, although this specimen may have died. The specimen in Ireland at Glasnevin is said to be "probably the tallest" specimen of E. woodii in Europe.
of the only known male plant which was completely removed from the wild. For these reasons, the plant is considered extinct in the wild
.
In South Africa one requires a permit from Nature Conservation to move, sell, buy, donate, receive, cultivate and sell Endangered Flora and to own adult cycads.
On an international level all species and hybrids of Encephalartos are on Appendix I of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. This means that wild collected material may not be traded and for each and every artificially cultivated Encephalartos plant or piece of a plant or a cone or pollen or seed, being carried over an international border requires a CITES Export Permit issued by the authority of the exporting country, and a CITES Import Permit issued by the authority of the importing country.
with rapidly-growing sucker
s.
Cycad
Cycads are seed plants typically characterized by a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves. The individual plants are either all male or all female . Cycads vary in size from having a trunk that is only a few centimeters...
in the genus Encephalartos
Encephalartos
Encephalartos is a genus of cycad native to Africa. Several species of Encephalartos are commonly referred to as bread palms, bread tree or Kaffir bread since a bread-like starchy food can be prepared from the centre of the stem. All the species of Encephalartos are endangered...
, and is endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to the Ongoye Forest
Ongoye Forest
Ongoye Forest is also known as Ngoye Forest or Ngoya Forest. It is situated on a granite ridge; inland from the town of Mtunzini in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.-History:...
of KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. It is one of the rarest plants in the world, being extinct in the wild
Extinct in the Wild
Extinct in the Wild is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa, the only known living members of which are being kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.-Examples:...
with all specimen
Specimen
A specimen is a portion/quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study.BiologyA laboratory specimen is an individual animal, part of an animal, a plant, part of a plant, or a microorganism, used as a representative to study the properties of the whole population of that species or...
s being clones
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
of the type. The specific and common name
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
both honour John Medley Wood
John Medley Wood
John Medley Wood 1 December 1827 Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England - 26 August 1915 Durban, was a South African botanist who contributed greatly to the knowledge of Natal ferns, is generally credited with the establishment of sugarcane mosaic virus immune Uba sugar cane in Natal and for his...
, curator of the Durban Botanic Garden
Durban Botanic Garden
The Durban Botanic Gardens is situated in the City of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is Durban’s oldest public institution and Africa's oldest surviving botanic gardens...
and director of the Natal Government Herbarium of South Africa, who discovered the specimen in 1895.
Description
It is palm tree like, and can reach a height of 6 metres (19.7 ft). The trunk is about 30 – in diameter, thickest at the bottom, and topped by a crown of 50–150 leaves. The leavesLeaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are glossy and dark green, 150 – in length, and keeled with 70–150 leaflet
Leaflet
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families...
s, the leaflets falcate (sickle-shaped), 13 – long and 20 – broad.
E. woodii is dioecious
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, meaning it has separate male and female plants, however no female plant has ever been discovered. The male strobili
Strobilus
A strobilus is a structure present on many land plant species consisting of sporangia-bearing structures densely aggregated along a stem. Strobili are often called cones, but many botanists restrict the use of the term cone to the woody seed strobili of conifers...
are cylindrical, 20 – long, exceptionally up to 120 centimetres (47.2 in), and 15 – in diameter; they are a vivid yellow-orange colour. A single plant may bear from around six to eight simultaneously.
Taxonomy
Encephalartos woodii was first described by Wood as a varietyVariety (biology)
In botanical nomenclature, variety is a taxonomic rank below that of species: as such, it gets a three-part infraspecific name....
of E. altensteinii (as E. altensteinii var. bispinna), and raised to the rank of species in 1908 by the English horticulturalist Henry Sander
Henry Frederick Conrad Sander
Henry Frederick Conrad Sander was a German-born orchidologist and nurseryman who settled in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England and is noted for his monthly publication on orchids, Reichenbachia, named in honour of Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach of Hamburg, the great orchidologist.In 1867 Sander...
from studying a specimen in his collection, which was apparently one of the basal offsets taken from the original clump. It has been considered that Encephalartos woodii is most closely related to E. natalensis. Some authorities consider E. woodii to not be a true species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
but rather a mutant
Mutant
In biology and especially genetics, a mutant is an individual, organism, or new genetic character, arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not...
E. natalensis or a relic of some other species. Yet others consider this plant to be a natural hybrid between E. natalensis and E. ferox
Encephalartos ferox
Encephalartos ferox, a member of the family Zamiaceae, is a small cycad with 35 cm wide subterranean trunk. It gets its name from the Latin word ferocious, likely from the spine-tipped lobes on the leaves of the plant. It is found naturally on the south-eastern coast of Africa where it has...
. To determine the relationship between E. natalensis and E. woodii, the RAPD
RAPD
RAPD stands for random amplification of polymorphic DNA. It is a type of PCR reaction, but the segments of DNA that are amplified are random. The scientist performing RAPD creates several arbitrary, short primers , then proceeds with the PCR using a large template of genomic DNA, hoping that...
technique was used to generate genetic fingerprints and data analysed using distance methods. Based on RAPD fingerprints, the intraspecific
Intraspecific
Intraspecific is a term used in biology to describe behaviors, biochemical variations and other issues within individuals of a single species, thereby contrasting with interspecific. For example:* Intraspecific antagonism...
genetic variation among different E. natalensis plants is similar to the interspecific
Interspecific
Interspecific is a term used in biology to describe behaviors, biochemical variations and other issues between individuals of separate species, thereby contrasting with intraspecific...
variation between E. natalensis and E. woodii, which confirms the close relationship between E. natalensis and E. woodii.
Distribution and habitat
Original distribution
The only known wild plants of E. woodii were a cluster of four stems of one plant discovered by Wood in 1895 in a small area of Ngoya Forest, now known by its proper ZuluZulu language
Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...
name of Ongoye, which is in KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
, South Africa. The site where this plant was found was on a steep south-facing slope on the fringes of the forest. The annual rainfall at the site ranges between 750 –, and the climate has hot summers and mild winters.
Removal from natural habitat
A basal offset of the main stems was removed and sent to Kew Gardens in 1899. Three basal offsets were collected by Wood's deputy, James Wylie, in 1903 and planted in the Durban Botanic Garden
Durban Botanic Garden
The Durban Botanic Gardens is situated in the City of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is Durban’s oldest public institution and Africa's oldest surviving botanic gardens...
s. One specimen was received at the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland in Glasnevin
Glasnevin
Glasnevin is a largely residential neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland.-Geography:A mainly residential neighbourhood, it is located on the Northside of the city of Dublin . It was originally established on the northern bank of the River Tolka...
in 1905 where the register records it as "Encephalartos way of E. Alten[steinii]" costing 1 guinea
Guinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
from Sander & Sons
Henry Frederick Conrad Sander
Henry Frederick Conrad Sander was a German-born orchidologist and nurseryman who settled in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England and is noted for his monthly publication on orchids, Reichenbachia, named in honour of Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach of Hamburg, the great orchidologist.In 1867 Sander...
. In a 1907 expedition, Wylie collected two of the larger stems and noted that of the remaining two, one of them (the largest of the four original stems) was badly mutilated and he did not expect it to survive. By 1912 there was only one 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall trunk left in the wild, and in 1916, the Forestry Department arranged to have it removed and sent to the Government Botanist in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
. It is thought that this trunk subsequently died in 1964.
Current distribution
These plants are currently distributed in various botanical institutions around the world. Two of the larger trunks that Wylie collected in the 1907 expedition are still to be seen in the Durban Botanic Gardens. A sucker from one of the Durban Botanic Gardens plants was sent to KirstenboschKirstenbosch
Kirstenbosch is the name of a famous botanical garden nestled at the foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town....
near Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa in 1916 by James Wylie. The plant that was sent to Kew Gardens in 1899 was grown in the Palm House until April 1997 and then moved to the Temperate House where it produced, for the first time, a male cone in September 2004. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; a specimen is housed in the conservatory at Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens consists of over 1,077 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, United States in the Brandywine Creek Valley...
near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and three specimens are to be seen at Lotus Land in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
where they were planted in 1979. The specimen at Longwood Gardens was received in 1969 after a request was made to the Durban Botanic Gardens by one of Longwood’s former directors, Dr. Russell Seibert, when he went on a plant exploration voyage to South Africa in the 1960s. The rooted plant was first taken to the Research Department at Longwood where the gardeners nurtured the plant until it was ready to be displayed in the Conservatory. The Longwood specimen produces cones in early winter. In Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
; a specimen is housed in the Netherlands at Hortus Botanicus
Hortus Botanicus
Hortus botanicus is a Latin term for botanical garden. It may refer to:*Hortus Botanicus Leiden*Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam*Hortus Botanicus Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam...
in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and in Orto Botanico di Napoli in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, although this specimen may have died. The specimen in Ireland at Glasnevin is said to be "probably the tallest" specimen of E. woodii in Europe.
Conservation status
Despite numerous excursions in the Ongoye-Mtunzini area, no other specimens of Encephalartos woodii have ever been found. All known specimens of Encephalartos woodii are clonesCloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
of the only known male plant which was completely removed from the wild. For these reasons, the plant is considered extinct in the wild
Extinct in the Wild
Extinct in the Wild is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa, the only known living members of which are being kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.-Examples:...
.
Legislation
As is the case with all members of the genus Encephalartos, Encephalartos woodii is protected by both national and international legislation:In South Africa one requires a permit from Nature Conservation to move, sell, buy, donate, receive, cultivate and sell Endangered Flora and to own adult cycads.
On an international level all species and hybrids of Encephalartos are on Appendix I of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. This means that wild collected material may not be traded and for each and every artificially cultivated Encephalartos plant or piece of a plant or a cone or pollen or seed, being carried over an international border requires a CITES Export Permit issued by the authority of the exporting country, and a CITES Import Permit issued by the authority of the importing country.
Reproduction and propagation
Vegetative reproduction
Encephalartos woodii reproducesVegetative reproduction
Vegetative reproduction is a form of asexual reproduction in plants. It is a process by which new individuals arise without production of seeds or spores...
with rapidly-growing sucker
Basal shoot
A basal shoot, root sprout, adventitious shoot, water sprout or sucker is a shoot or cane which grows from a bud at the base of a tree or shrub or from its roots. This shoot then becomes, or takes the form of, a singular plant. A plant that produces suckers is referred to as surculose...
s.
Sexual reproduction
Unless a female plant is found, E. woodii will never reproduce naturally. However, the next best thing has been accomplished. Wood's Cycad forms fertile hybrids with E. natalensis. If each offspring is subsequently crossed with E. woodii and the process is then repeated, after several generations, the female offspring will be close to what a female Encephalartos woodii would be like. Genetic analysis of chloroplast DNA of F1 hybrids between E. woodii and E. natalensis showed that all chloroplasts are inherited from the female E. natalensis, indicating that multigenerational hybrid offspring would have E. natalensis chloroplasts and could never be "pure" E. woodii.Distribution of hybrids
Several hybrids between E. woodii and other species of Encephalartos have been produced including:- Encephalartos gratus x E. woodii at Lotus Land, California.
- Encephalartos natalensis x E. woodii at Orto botanico di PalermoOrto botanico di PalermoThe Orto Botanico di Palermo is both a botanical garden and a research and educational institution forming part of, and managed by, the Department of Botany of the University of Palermo. The garden lies within the city of Palermo , at 10 metres above sea-level...
in Italy, and in various collections in South Africa and the United States. - Encephalartos transvenosusEncephalartos transvenosusEncephalartos transvenosus is a palm-like cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is found in Limpopo Province in South Africa. It is also sometimes called "Modjadji's palm" and is named after the Rain Queen. The species name transvenosus refers to the fine network of veins between the main veins...
x E. woodii in collections in South Africa and the United States.