Encephalartos ghellinckii Lem.

Plant unbranched or branched from the base; stems up to about 3 m tall, rarely up to 3-5 m and then usually leaning; 30-40 cm diam., with brown woolly crown. Leaves up to 1 m long, including petiole 25 cm long, at first densely greyish tomentose, glabrescent except for brown silky-tomentose pulvinus; rhachis stiff, slender, straight or spreading-upcurved and sometimes somewhat twisted, yellowish; leaflets spreading-reflexed, dense above middle of rhachis, more spaced and reduced in size towards its base, with thickened entire revolute margins and generally inconspicuous venation which may be more evident on upper surface than lower; median leaflets 8-14 cm long, 2-4 mm broad, pungent-tipped. Cones 2-5 together, on short stout peduncles, densely covered with matted brownish tomentum. Male cone cylindric, curved, about 25 cm long, 6-7 cm diam., narrowed slightly to both ends, median scales thin, broadly obcordate, 2-2.5 cm long, 3-3.5 cm broad, on slender stalk (stipe) 1-1.5 cm long; bulla face 2 cm broad and 1 cm thick vertically, very little projecting, with acute lateral wings, upper and lower facets rounded or slightly humped, terminal facet concave, about 7 mm broad and 3 mm wide vertically. Female cone barrel-shaped, up to about 22 cm long and 14 cm diam.; median scales about 4 cm long, 4.2-6 cm broad and 2.5-3 cm thick vertically, with short recurved lateral lobes; bulla face woolly, only slightly projecting, nearly flat. Seed golden-yellow, about 2.5 cm long and as broad or broader.