Encephalartos lehmannii Lehm.

Plant unbranched or more frequently branched from the base with stems up to about 1.5 m tall, rarely up to 2 m, 25-45 cm diam. Leaves 1-1.5 m long including petiole up to 25 cm long, glabrous, glaucous when young, dark green with age; rhachis straight, or sometimes slightly recurved and rarely with the apex twisted sideways, with stout tomentose pulvinus with conspicuous red-brown collar; leaflets spaced in the lower half of the leaf and reduced in size possibly to one prickle, closely set in the upper half but not much overlapping, in V disposition; median leaflets linear-lanceolate, 12-18 cm long, 1.7-1.9 cm broad, pungent, entire or rarely with 1 or 2 small teeth on lower margin. Cones solitary, on short stout peduncles, blackish-red because of short dense blackish hairs on the terminal half of the bulla face or sometimes greyish on the terminal facet. Male cones subcylindric narrowed to apex and base, 25-35 cm long, 8-10 cm diam.; median scales 2.25-2.5 cm broad, 1 cm thick vertically; bulla face projected into a beak about 1.5 cm long with acute lateral ridges, terminal facet 5-8 mm broad and about 5 mm wide vertically. Female cones ovoid or barrel-shaped, 30-50 cm long, 15-23 cm diam.; median scales about 6-7 cm long and 6 cm broad and 3-5 cm thick vertically with lateral ridges extending into the incurved lateral lobes 1-1-5 cm long; bulla face protruding about 2 cm, almost smooth, the upper facet with a central ridge, lower facet rounded, terminal facet 1.5-1.8 cm broad, 1-1.5 cm wide vertically, slightly concave with acute upper margin. Seed red, angled by compression, 4.7-5 cm long, about 2 cm diam., with fleshy beak.