Encephalartos eugene-maraisii Waterberg Cycad Waterbergbroodboom
Geelhoutkloof, Aug 2017
Cycads are ancient plants, dating back more than 100 million years to the pre-Gondwana breakup. There is just this one species found in the Waterberg. It grows in rocky terrain, its range extending along the highest-lying parts of the Sandrivierberg range from Marakele in the west to Hanglip in the east. Its range and numbers have been much reduced as a result of heavy exploitation in the past. The most recent (2020) estimate of the number of plants surviving in the wild is between 400-620. (SANBI Red List) It is an unmistakable plant – evergreen, growing to a height of 4-5m (longer when lying on the ground) and with a stem diameter of up to ½m.
Endemic to the eastern Waterberg and red-listed (ranked as endangered) on account of severe over-collecting of plants in the wild. An aerial survey in 2004 located 875 mature plants across its range. It was described in 1945 by botanist Inez Verdoorn and she named it after Eugene Marais who was her uncle.
Cycads are ancient plants, dating back more than 100 million years to the pre-Gondwana breakup. There is just this one species found in the Waterberg. It grows in rocky terrain, its range extending along the highest-lying parts of the Sandrivierberg range from Marakele in the west to Hanglip in the east. Its range and numbers have been much reduced as a result of heavy exploitation in the past. The most recent (2020) estimate of the number of plants surviving in the wild is between 400-620. (SANBI Red List) It is an unmistakable plant – evergreen, growing to a height of 4-5m (longer when lying on the ground) and with a stem diameter of up to ½m.
Endemic to the eastern Waterberg and red-listed (ranked as endangered) on account of severe over-collecting of plants in the wild. An aerial survey in 2004 located 875 mature plants across its range. It was described in 1945 by botanist Inez Verdoorn and she named it after Eugene Marais who was her uncle.
Entabeni, Dec 2009
Marakele National Park, Jun 2017
Entabeni, Dec 2009