Encephalartos schmitzii Malaisse
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Authority
Stevenson, Dennis W. 1990. Morphology and systematics of the Cycadales. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 57: 8-55.
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Family
Cycadaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Trunk not developed, only the crown above ground. Leaves up to 60 cm long, straight; leaflets up to 14 X 1.0 cm, linear or narrowly oblong, ± straight, margin with 0-2 spines on either side, set basically; leaflets reducing in size and becoming oblong towards the base, ultimately simple spines; petiole 1-2 cm long. Male cones up to 10 X 3.5 cm, ellipsoid to subcylindric, median conescales sessile, terminal facet blunty triangular to rhombic. Female cone up to 26 x 12 cm, ovoidcylindric, green, shortly pedunculate; median cone-scales at right angle to axis, with terminal facet rhombic, 50-60° deflexed, slightly concave. Seeds 2.5 cm long, ovoid, orange, brownish with age.
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Discussion
Encephalartos schmitzii Malaisse, Bull. Jard. Bot. Nat. Belg. 39(4): 402. 1969. The presence of Encephalartos near Mpika fills a gap of over 1000 k m between the Shaban occurrences on the one hand and the Malawian and Zimbabwean localities on the other hand. Moreover, recent prospecting in the neighboring Province of Shaba, in 1988, had led to the discovery of several new localities in the vicinity of Kolwezi, of Fungurume, and also in the southem part of the Marungu plateau between Pepa and Moliro. All these plants belong to the E. poggei complex. This led to the conclusion that, even if it is very rare, the genus m a y be present, as small clumps of about ten individuals in more or less open vegetation, such as the sandy steppish vegetation and the poor miombo of high plateaus or also on rocky outcrops through the Zambezian Region. Nevertheless, Encephalartos in south to central Africa remains relatively scarce. As far as the African distribution of Encephalartos is concerend, recent mapd dealing with its distribution in teh continental part of Africa generall present it as a large distribution from Senegal to Ethiopia and southwards to South Africa. This, however, is completely incorrect. The genus Encephalartos does not belong to the linked Congo-Guinean-Sudano-Zambezian element, but rather to the latter, just penetrating at the boundaries into the Zaïro-Guinean (=Congo- Guinean) floristic area, namely on the Kwango River and in Ituri (Fig. 3). Several explanations have been proposed to explain the scarcity of Encephalartos. Hall and Jenik (1967), discussing the present distribution of the West African cycad, E. barteri, recalled that there have been periods during the last million years when the West African climate has been moister than at present and forest must have covered much of what is now savanna. The authors suppose that E. barteri survived in a few places where the shallow, rocky soil prevented the growth of dense forest, but has been unable subsequently to recolonize wide areas of savanna. Both the niche for E. ituriensis and the present habitat of E. schmitzii are rocky sites. The now prevailing vitality and distribution of Encephalartos species in south central Africa reinforce the impression of its inability to recolonize steppe savannas and woodlands. Moreover, the conditions of pollination, fertilization and dissemination have become defective. As Giddy (1984) stated, male cones seldom all mature at the same time, ensuring that pollen is available over a long period of time; but to produce fertile seed in nature a male and a female plant must therefore not only cone at the same time but also grow close enough to one another to effect wind pollination. This becomes rare. O n the other hand the importance of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in dissemination of Encephalartos is noted by several collectors. Liben (pers. comm.) has observed, several times, intact seeds in elephant dung. The lack of seedlings in the field may thus result both from reduced chances of fertilization of the female cones as due to the thinning out of natural populations and of absence of endozoochory because of the sharply reduced elephant population. Human pressure has also to be taken into account. Schweinfurth (1875, vol. II: 310) reported that according to the expedition's porters the central part of the stem of E. septentrionalis, which contains a large quantity of starch, is used by the Kredi-Ndouggou to prepare a kind of beer, and E. poggei has been reported by several Lunda informants to be an important food during famine periods (Malaisse & Parent, 1985). The stem ofthe latter is used to obtain a flour, being prepared in a manner identical to that for the tuberous roots of cassava. Cut pieces are steeped in running water for about three days, dried in the sun, and then crushed to a fine powder, which is used for the preparation ofa pap. The protein content ofthe stem of E. poggei is quite high and also contains a significant amount of lipids (Malaisse & Parent, 1985). However, these uses appear not to be responsible for the present scarcity of E. schmitzii, of which paleoendemism remains characteristic. Dyer and Verdoorn (1969) consider that, in modern times, by far the greatest menace to the wild populations of Encephalartos is the insatiable demand for sizable cycads to place in cultivation. And they further assert that there is demand for those hardy specimens that have successfully withstood the ravages of fire (namely, by protection of stem-apex by scaleleaves), baboons, and all other hazards. In south central Africa baboons are disappearing, activities of cultivator-collectors have appeared recently and are exceptional, but peasant agriculture, with temporary cassava fields is still operating in the bush where only a few cycads are preserved after transplantation in the vicinity of huts. Because of these conditions there is urgent need for more field exploration and studies.