About the plant
Only one specimen of Encephalartos woodii has ever been found in the wild. It was discovered on the edge of South Africa’s Ngoye Forest in 1895.
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Extinct in the wild
The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species uses a set of criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of the world’s species. The ongoing mission is to evaluate every plant species in the world.
IUCN Red List Status:
Not yet evaluatedData deficientLeast concernNear threatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically endangeredExtinct in the wildExtinct -
MedicinePlant or components of this plant are used in medicine
Facts
- Extinct in the wild
- One of 306 cycad species
- Male cones are orange
- Cones can be 1.2m long
Andrew McRobb © RBG Kew
Andrew McRobb © RBG Kew
Andrew McRobb © RBG Kew
© Jeff Eden/RBG Kew
© Jeff Eden/RBG Kew
Lonely male
The only specimen found in the wild was discovered by the English botanist, John Medley-Wood (for whom the plant is named).
All Wood’s cycads in cultivation are clones of that last wild specimen, so all are male. They only produce the pollen-bearing male cones.
Kew’s specimen arrived in 1899, it coned for the first time ever in 2004. Exciting as this was, it takes ‘two to tango’, so the quest for a female continues.
-
Extinct in the wild
The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species uses a set of criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of the world’s species. The ongoing mission is to evaluate every plant species in the world.
IUCN Red List Status:
Not yet evaluatedData deficientLeast concernNear threatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically endangeredExtinct in the wildExtinct -
MedicinePlant or components of this plant are used in medicine