Cycas elephantipes
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Cycas elephantipes faces severe pressure from illegal collection for the horticultural trade, where mature specimens command extremely high prices due to their distinctive swollen stems and rarity. Habitat degradation from agricultural expansion and urban development in its limited South African range compounds these pressures. The species' extremely slow growth rate, taking decades to reach reproductive maturity, makes population recovery exceptionally difficult once individuals are removed from wild populations.
Habitat
This cycad is endemic to the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, where it grows in rocky outcrops and steep slopes in succulent karoo and thicket vegetation. It typically occurs on well-drained soils in areas with winter rainfall patterns, often in association with other drought-adapted succulent species.
