Encephalartos inopinus

It is a palmlike plant, with stems up to 3 m high and 15–25 cm in diameter.

It has 100-150 cm long leaves, blue or semi-glossy silver. The leaflets, 14–20 cm long and lanceolate, have the lower toothed margin and are inserted on the rachis in the opposite way at an angle of 180°.

It is a dioecious species, with male specimens that have from 1 to 3 closely ovoid cones, green in color, 18–25 cm long and 6–8 cm in diameter, (The discoverer of the species Dr. Helmoud van Hoepen, found individuals with both male and female cones that were silvery in color.[3]) and female specimens, with 1-2 cones of the same colors, of oval shape, 30–35 cm long and 12 cm in diameter. Both appear in January, i.e. in the middle of summer in the southern hemisphere. Both macrosporophylls and microsporophylls have a flat, smooth and glabrous surface.

The seeds are 20–25 mm long, 15–20 mm wide and are covered with an orange, fleshy organ, which is called an aril.[4]

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  Cone
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  Plant

Encephalartos is Greek and means 'bear's head'. Inopinus is Latin and means 'unexpected'.

• Media related to Encephalartos inopinus at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Encephalartos inopinus at Wikispecies