Characteristics
A shrub. It has a taproot. It has a fat trunk. It grows 2 m tall. The trunk is dark grey and cracked. There are 2 leaves growing on either side of the trunk. They are thick and leathery. The flower is a cone. Male and female cones are on separate plants. The seeds are 7 mm long by 5 mm wide and 2 mm dep. The mature seed has wings. A female plant can have 100-200 cones each with 100 seeds.
| Life form |
perennial
|
| Growth form |
|
| Growth support |
free-standing
|
| Foliage retention |
-
|
| Sexuality |
-
|
| Pollination |
-
|
| Spread |
-
|
| Mature width (meter) |
-
|
| Mature height (meter) |
2.0
|
| Root system |
tap-root
|
| Rooting depth (meter) |
-
|
| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
-
|
| Blooming months |
-
|
| Fruit color |
-
|
| Fruiting months |
-
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
-
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
cam
|
Environment
It is a subtropical plant. It grows in hot arid places. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall below 200 mm. It grows in deep soils often over limestone. It grows between 30-150 m above sea level. It can resist wind. It is resistant to drought. It can grow in arid places.
| Light |
-
|
| Soil humidity |
-
|
| Soil texture |
-
|
| Soil acidity |
-
|
| Soil nutriment |
-
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
-
|
Usage
The flowers are eaten raw and also in vegetable dishes. The fresh green cones especially from female plants are eaten after rains by roasting in ashes or eating them raw.
Cultivation
Plants can be grown from seed but need moisture to overcome the germination inhibitor.
| Mode |
seedlings
|
| Germination duration (days) |
-
|
| Germination temperacture (C°) |
-
|
| Germination luminosity |
-
|
| Germination treatment |
-
|
| Minimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Optimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Size |
-
|
| Vigor |
-
|
| Productivity |
-
|
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