Encephalartos natalensis R.A.Dyer & I.Verd.

Plants branched from the base or occasionally unbranched, with stems 3-4 m tall and occasionally up to 6.5 m, 25-40 cm diam., sometimes showing small amount of wool round apex. Leaves 1.3-3.2 m long including petiole 10-26 cm long; rhachis erect spreading, sometimes slightly recurved and twisted towards apex, tomentose at first, glabrescent with age except for densely woolly pulvinus; leaflets mainly spreading in the lower half of leaf and gradually in narrower V disposition towards apex, reduced to several prickles towards base of rhachis, dark green; median leaflets lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 16-23 cm long, 2.5-4.5 cm broad, pungent, entire or with 1-5 sharp prickles on one or both margins, more often on the lower leaflets and sometimes almost lobate on young plants. Cones 2-3 together on stout peduncles, dark yellowish-green with thin foxy tomentum. Male cones up to about 45 cm long, 9-10 cm diam., median scales about 4 cm long, 2.5-3 cm broad with sporangial surface obovate-oblong; bulla extended into a beak about 1.5 cm long with acute lateral ridges, the upper and lower facets fairly smooth, terminal facet about 8 mm broad, 7 mm wide vertically and with raised lower margin. Female cones oblong or oblong-ovate in outline up to 50 cm long and 25 cm diam.; median scales 7-8 cm long, 5 cm broad and 4 cm thick vertically with lateral ridges extending into the incurved lateral toothed lobes 2-3 cm long; bulla face about 2 cm prominent, finely rugose round base with upper and lower facets rounded or humped and with prominent blunt rugosites, terminal facet about 2 cm broad and 1.5 cm wide vertically, slightly concave. Seed scarlet, 5 cm long and 2 cm diam., with fleshy beak.