08/06/2025
Blooming now in the Desert Dome! 🌵
Bloom alert! Our Desert Horticulturist, Justine enthuses: "An exciting development is taking place in the Arid Dome right now: our Tongaland Cycad is producing TWO cones! I've gathered some interesting facts about the species, and about our particular plant, to spread the news of this rare and beautiful event!"
Encephalartos ferox facts:
• Species name "ferox" means "fierce" in reference to the sharp, pointy tips of the leaflets.
• This species is listed on the IUCN Red List as "Near Threatened". The main threats to the wild population are habitat loss due to agriculture and tourism developments, and wild collection for the ornamental trade.
• Encephalartos species produce special lateral roots close to the surface of the soil. They are known as coralloid roots and contain blue-green algae to help fix nitrogen for the plant. You can see some of these coralloid roots poking up through the gravel in the Arid Dome!
• Plants are dioecious, meaning each individual produces only male or only female cones. However, on rare occasion the plant can change s*x.
• Encephalartos species' cones produce heat after sunset. The heat, combined with a scent, is used to attract pollinators.
• Our plant is a female and has two crowns from which it produces cones. Usually it only produces one at a time, but this year it is producing two simultaneously!
• Our plant was planted in the Arid Dome in 1984, and first produced a cone in 1999.
Don't miss this spectacular bloom ... and the other fresh blossoms to be experienced in all three domes! mitchellparkdomes.com
