Encephalartos lanatus Stapf & Burtt Davy

Plants unbranched or sometimes branched from the base; stems up to about 1 m tall and only very rarely up to 3 m long and reclining, up to about 25 cm diam., with densely grey woolly bracts. Leaves 6-1 m long, including petiole 20-25 cm long, white or grey woolly when young except under surface of leaflets, glabrescent except base of petiole and pulvinus; rhachis recurved and often slightly twisted; leaflets glaucous when young, entire, pungent, set in V formation above middle of rhachis and usually overlapping, reduced in size to base and apex of rhachis; median leaflets 10-13 cm long, 6-8 mm broad, finely 10-14-nerved on under surface. Cones 1-4 together on short peduncles, covered by a dense light cream to greyish tomentum. Male cones subcylindric, 25-30 cm long, 5-6 cm diam., narrowed to both ends; median scales about 2.3 cm long and 2.5-3.2 cm broad, with lateral ridges; bulla face flattened, about 2.5 cm broad and 1.5 cm wide vertically (with tomentum). Female cones oblong in outline, 25-35 cm long, 12-15 cm diam., slightly narrowed to rounded apex and base; median scales 3-3.5 cm long; bulla 4.3-5 cm broad, 2.5-2.7 cm thick vertically, with incurved lateral lobes about 5 mm long, with acute lateral ridges; bulla with base glabrous, yellow or greenish-yellow, upper and lower facets woolly, rounded, terminal facet indistinct, about 1.5 cm diam. Seeds yellow, oblong-orbicular, 2.5-3 cm long, 2.25-2.5 cm broad with scanty pulp.