A very large cycad, usually 5-8m high, but sometimes reaching 13 m. The trees form natural forests on the mountainsides above the village of the rain queen, Modjadji, east of Duiwelskloof in Mpumalanga. These forests have been protected by generations of rain-queens. This species also occurs on the Soutpansberg Mountains in the Northern Province. The seeds are a brilliant orange- red and the thin, fully ripe flesh surrounding the kernels is relished by children of the village of Modjadji. Plants are easily grown from seed. Prof. Berend Elbrecht, Head of the Botany Department from 1931 to 1944 and mentor of the Gardens collected this particular specimen in the 1930s.