Queen Modjadji's Cycad: Encephalartos transvenosis

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Point No. 5

Species: Encephalartos transvenosus Staph and Burtt Davy

Family: Zamiaceae

Encephalartos transvenosus, the Modjadji cycad or Modjadji broodboom, is native to South Africa occurring mostly within the Letaba District of Mpumalanga (Figure 3). The cycad collection at the University of Pretoria is exceptional, as it is the largest in the southern hemisphere.

Encephalartos transvenosus are protected in a cycad forest in Modjadjiskloof, Limpopo. This forest contains roughly 250 000 adult cycads and is one of only a few cycad forests in the world. The Balobedu royal family have protected this cycad forest for over 900 years.

The Rain Queen ^[2], the ancestral queen of the Balobedu people, is believed to have special powers in the ability to control the rainfall and clouds. These powers are believed to be reflected in the lush garden of the cycad forest which are in abundance under her reign. This cycad is particularly important in the Rain Queen’s history as it was named after her, “The Modjadji Cycad”. Succeeding Rain Queens within the Royal Family are said to inherit the rain influence. The Rain Queen was offered an official government stipend which contributes to the cost of preserving her gardens.

Female cones. Photo 248382077, (c) Simon Attwood, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Simon Attwood

The Modjadji cycad is one of the tallest and fastest growing cycads. The stem can grow to be 13m tall and 0.45m in diameter. The base of the stem contains multiple dormant buds. New leaf growth is light green while older leaves are dark green and glossy and range from 1.5 to 2.5m in length. Leaflets overlap and are 16-25 by 2.5-4.5cm but reduce in size as they approach the base of the leaf. A distinguishing feature of this species is that the leaflets are reflexed from the leaf stalk. The species is regarded as a tree, specifically a gymnosperm as it produces cones, due to its size being 8m or more in length and a leaf spread of up to 5m. It is a dioecious gymnosperm, containing both male and female cones on separate individuals. Female cones are very large and can weigh more than 40kg. ^[3]

Being one of the most attractive larger cycads, it is commonly used as an ornamental plant in gardens. The plant also has culinary uses.. Historically, the pith of the stem is removed and encased in animal hide where it is fermented and ground into a meal. This meal is then used to make bread, which is where the Afrikaans name ‘broodboom’ derives from. Although cycads are heavily exploited and poached, this species remains designated in the class of “Least Concern”, primarily due to its substantial population size and ability to recover from exploitation at the population level.

Photo 37408545, (c) Troos van der Merwe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Troos van der Merwe

Text prepared by Tiffany Crous and Minentle Mndiyata, 2022 BOT 366 class.

Cited sources:

1. Modjadji Cycad (Encephalartos transvenosus) · iNaturalist United Kingdom. (2022, February 11). iNaturalist UK. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://uk.inaturalist.org/taxa/135963-Encephalartos-transvenosus
2. Rain Queen. (2022, October). Wikipedia. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_Queen

Winter, J. (2005, March). Encephalartos transvenosus | PlantZAfrica. PlantZAfrica |. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from http://pza.sanbi.org/en