In 1971, a man named J.J.P. du Preez found a single cycad growing on the eastern border of Swaziland (now Eswatini), near Mozambique. Just one plant — no colony, no population, no second individual anywhere in sight. Du Preez recognised it as something unusual and, fearing for its survival, relocated it to his farm called Muti Muti, on the eastern slopes of the Lebombo Mountains, about 5 km from the Mozambican border, along the Parlota River. Despite repeated searches of the original discovery site and the surrounding area, the species has never been found in the wild again. In 2001 — thirty years after its discovery — the South African cycad specialist Pieter J.H. Hurter formally described it as Encephalartos relictus, a new species of the genus Encephalartos. The epithet says everything: relictus, Latin for “left behind” — a remnant, a survivor of something that has otherwise vanished.
But the story of Encephalartos relictus has a twist that makes it arguably the most hopeless conservation case in the entire cycad world — worse, in a sense, even than Encephalartos woodii. The original plant was male. Every offset and sucker it has ever produced is male. Every propagated specimen in every collection that holds this species is a clone of the same male individual. There is no known female plant. There has never been a known female plant. Encephalartos relictus cannot produce seed, cannot be crossed with itself, and — unless a female is discovered in the wild or a sex-reversal occurs in cultivation — cannot reproduce sexually. It is, in the precise biological sense, evolutionarily extinct: alive but incapable of generating a next generation.
Taxonomy and nomenclature
Encephalartos relictus P.J.H. Hurter was first published in 2001 in Bothalia (volume 31: 197–199). The species was described by Pieter Johan Hendrik Hurter (known as Johan Hurter) — the same prolific cycad taxonomist who described Encephalartos equatorialis, Encephalartos hirsutus, Encephalartos nubimontanus, and several other species during the 1990s and 2000s. Hurter based the description on cultivated material derived from the single plant discovered by du Preez in 1971.
The epithet relictus means “left behind” or “remnant” in Latin — a reference to the species’ apparent status as a last survivor of a population (or an entire lineage) that has otherwise disappeared. The choice of name suggests that Hurter viewed the single individual as a relict — the final representative of what may once have been a wider distribution in the Lebombo Mountains or adjacent lowlands of southeastern Africa.
Encephalartos relictus is related to Encephalartos heenanii and Encephalartos paucidentatus — the Barberton/Eswatini group that shares corrugately raised veins on the lower leaflet surfaces. However, its morphology is sufficiently distinct to warrant specific rank, and Hurter’s description was accepted by POWO, the World List of Cycads, and all current authorities. The geographic proximity to the Lebombo range — home to Encephalartos lebomboensis and Encephalartos senticosus — is noted, but the morphological affinities are with the inland montane species rather than the Lebombo coastal group.
Common names: Parlota cycad (after the Parlota River, near du Preez’s farm); relict cycad.
Morphological description
Habit and caudex: Encephalartos relictus is a medium-sized, arborescent cycad. The trunk is erect, reaching up to 2.5 m in height and 40–45 cm in diameter. Secondary stems originate from basal suckers, producing a multi-stemmed clump over time — it is through these suckers that the species has been propagated, since seed production is impossible.
Leaves: The fronds are pinnate, bluish-green in colour, 1–2 m long, supported by a petiole approximately 15 cm long. Each leaf is composed of numerous pairs of leathery leaflets, arranged on the rachis at an angle of approximately 40°, each leaflet up to 20–25 cm long. The leaflets are lanceolate with the margins characteristic of the heenanii/paucidentatus group. The overall appearance is of a well-formed, blue-green, medium-sized cycad — handsome and structurally similar to its Barberton relatives but distinguishable by a combination of characters detailed in Hurter’s description.
Reproductive structures: Only male cones are known — the inevitable consequence of the species’ existence as a single male clone. Male plants produce 1–3 cones per stem, greenish-yellow, approximately 20–24 cm long and 12–15 cm wide. No female cone has ever been documented. No seed has ever been produced. The pollen from the male cones is technically available for hybridisation with female plants of closely related species (as is done with Encephalartos woodii), but no pure Encephalartos relictus offspring can be generated without a conspecific female.
Distribution and (former) natural habitat
The species is known from a single locality: the eastern border of Eswatini, near Mozambique, in the Lebombo Mountains region. The precise coordinates of the original discovery site have never been published in detail, presumably to prevent treasure-hunting. POWO gives the distribution simply as “Eswatini.” The altitude and habitat are inferred from the location: the eastern slopes of the Lebombo Mountains, at approximately 300–600 m elevation, in subtropical bushveld or low forest on the Mozambique-facing escarpment.
The climate in this area is subtropical, with warm to hot summers, mild winters (frost-free or nearly so at this altitude and latitude), and rainfall of approximately 600–900 mm, predominantly in summer. The Lebombo Mountains form a narrow ridge of rhyolite and basalt running north–south along the Mozambique border, separating the Highveld interior from the Mozambican coastal plain. The eastern slopes — where the cycad was found — are warmer, moister, and more tropical in character than the interior.
The absence of any other individual in the wild — despite repeated searches — raises the question of whether the species was always this rare (a naturally extremely restricted micro-endemic) or whether it was once more widespread and declined to a single plant through habitat destruction, fire, or collection before du Preez’s discovery. The Lebombo region has been subject to extensive land-use changes (agriculture, grazing, forestry), and it is possible that a small population existed but was eliminated before anyone documented it. The name relictus suggests Hurter’s view leaned toward the first interpretation: a relict of an ancient, naturally declining lineage.
Conservation status — the limits of the possible
Encephalartos relictus is assessed as Extinct in the Wild (EW) on the IUCN Red List (Bösenberg 2022). The World List of Cycads confirms this assessment. The species is listed on CITES Appendix I.
The EW designation is technically accurate — no wild plants exist — but it understates the biological reality. Encephalartos woodii, the world’s most famous Extinct in the Wild cycad, is also known only from male clones, but it exists in hundreds of cultivated specimens worldwide, its pollen is used to produce backcross hybrids with Encephalartos natalensis, and a sophisticated breeding programme aims to eventually recover genetically pure female plants through repeated backcrossing. Encephalartos relictus has none of this infrastructure. It exists in a handful of cultivated specimens — the original plant on du Preez’s farm and the offsets he distributed to “several of his friends” (Africa Cycads). The total number of cultivated individuals worldwide is unknown but almost certainly very small — perhaps fewer than twenty. No backcross programme has been initiated. No female has been sought through molecular screening of related populations.
Africa Cycads states the situation with brutal clarity: “Encephalartos relictus is ‘evolutionarily extinct.’ As there are only male plants in existence, they can never propagate naturally.”
The woodii parallel — and why relictus is worse
Encephalartos woodii and Encephalartos relictus share the same fundamental predicament: each is known only from male clones and cannot reproduce sexually. But the comparison favours woodii in almost every respect:
Encephalartos woodii was discovered in 1895 — over a century of cultivation history. It is represented in hundreds of collections worldwide. Its pollen has been used to hybridise with Encephalartos natalensis and other species, producing vigorous offspring. A backcross programme is under way. The Durban Botanic Gardens specimen is over 100 years old and weighs an estimated 2.5 tonnes. The species is an icon of conservation — perhaps the most famous plant in the world.
Encephalartos relictus was discovered in 1971 and described in 2001 — barely two decades of formal scientific existence. It is represented in perhaps a dozen collections, all derived from a single individual’s offsets. No hybridisation programme has been attempted. No backcross strategy exists. The species is virtually unknown outside the specialist cycad community. Its survival depends entirely on the continued care of a small number of private collectors, most of whom received their plants directly from du Preez.
If the du Preez farm is sold, neglected, or destroyed, the species could lose its founding population. If the few cultivated offsets succumb to disease, transplant shock, or simple neglect, the species could disappear entirely. Unlike woodii, which has the safety net of global distribution across botanical gardens, relictus hangs by a thread so thin that a single bad decision — or a single bad year — could sever it.
Cold hardiness
The Lebombo eastern slopes at 300–600 m in the Eswatini borderlands are subtropical and largely frost-free. Winter nighttime temperatures may drop to 5–10 °C but sustained frost is unlikely at this altitude and exposure.
Practical cold hardiness estimate: USDA Zone 9b–10a (−1 to −4 °C) as a conservative estimate. The species has no known exposure to significant frost in its natural habitat. Brief, light frost may be tolerated by mature specimens in dry conditions, but there is essentially no data — the cultivated population is so small that no grower has deliberately tested the species’ frost limits.
Caveat: With fewer than twenty cultivated specimens in existence, any cold-hardiness experimentation carries unacceptable risk. The species should be grown in frost-free conditions until the cultivated population is large enough that individual losses can be absorbed.
Cultivation
Difficulty: 3/5 for the plant itself — but the extreme rarity of material makes acquisition the real obstacle. Only a handful of specimens exist outside South Africa.
Light: Full sun to partial shade, consistent with the subtropical Lebombo habitat.
Soil: Well-drained, fertile, slightly acidic. The Lebombo rhyolite and basalt substrates produce well-drained, mineral-rich soils.
Watering: Regular during the growing season, reduced during winter. The species is adapted to a summer-rainfall subtropical regime.
Growth rate: Not well documented due to the scarcity of cultivated material. Presumably moderate, consistent with other medium-sized Eswatini-border species.
Propagation — the only pathway: Sucker removal is the sole means of propagation. The species does not produce seed (no female exists). Every new plant must be derived as an offset from an existing male clone. This clonal propagation maintains genetic identity but offers zero genetic diversity — every Encephalartos relictus in the world is genetically identical to every other. The implications for long-term viability are severe: clonal populations are maximally vulnerable to disease, as a pathogen that can overcome one individual can overcome them all.
Comparison with other Extinct in the Wild Encephalartos
| Character | E. relictus | E. woodii | E. heenanii | E. nubimontanus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery | 1971, single plant | 1895, single multi-stemmed plant | 1969, small population | 1995, small population |
| Description | Hurter 2001 | Sander 1908 | Dyer 1972 | Hurter 1995 |
| Known from wild | 1 plant (relocated) | 1 multi-stemmed clump (removed) | 272 stems in 1996 → 0 by 2019 | Small population → 0 |
| Sex known | Male only | Male only | Male and female (but extinct) | Male and female (but extinct) |
| Seed production possible? | NO (no female) | NO (no female; backcross hybrids only) | Extremely difficult (Lotusland success) | Extremely limited |
| Cultivated population | ~10–20 (estimate) | ~500+ worldwide | Small, scattered collections | Small, scattered collections |
| Backcross programme? | No | Yes (with E. natalensis) | No (but Assurance Colony at Lotusland) | No |
| Genetic diversity | Zero (single clone) | Zero (single clone) | Very low (few founders) | Very low |
| Public profile | Virtually unknown | World-famous | Known to specialists | Known to specialists |
| IUCN status | EW | EW | EW | EW |
A species that exists on borrowed time
Encephalartos relictus is, by any measure, the most precarious species in a genus defined by precariousness. It was discovered as a single plant. It was never found again. It produces only male clones. It exists in perhaps a dozen cultivated specimens. No breeding programme, no assurance colony, no backcross strategy exists. Its survival depends entirely on the continued goodwill and competence of the private collectors who hold the handful of living plants — people whose names, for the most part, are not recorded in the scientific literature.
The species illustrates a principle that is uncomfortable for conservation biology: not every extinction can be reversed, and not every species can be saved. Encephalartos woodii receives millions of rands in research funding and global media attention because it is photogenic, well-established in cultivation, and supported by a plausible (if distant) recovery strategy. Encephalartos relictus receives almost nothing, because there is almost nothing that can be done. Without a female, there is no seed. Without seed, there are no seedlings. Without seedlings, there is no genetic variation. Without genetic variation, there is no adaptation, no evolution, no future.
What remains is a handful of male plants on a handful of farms and in a handful of gardens, producing cones full of pollen that has nowhere to go. The species name is a prophecy fulfilled: relictus — left behind.
Authority websites
POWO — Plants of the World Online: https://powo.science.kew.org/…
IUCN Red List: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41764/51054439
World List of Cycads: https://cycadlist.org
Bibliography
Hurter, P.J.H. & Glen, H.F. (2001). Encephalartos relictus (Zamiaceae): a new species from southern Africa. Bothalia 31: 197–199. [Original description]
Golding, J.S. & Hurter, P.J.H. (2003). A Red List account of Africa’s cycads and implications of considering life-history and threats. Biodiversity & Conservation 12(3): 507–528.
Donaldson, J.S. (2010). Encephalartos relictus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T41764A10533238.
Bösenberg, J.D. (2022). Encephalartos relictus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T41764A51054439. [EW assessment]
Smith, D. et al. (2023). Extinct in the wild: the precarious state of Earth’s most threatened group of species. Science 379(6634): eadd2889.
Whitelock, L.M. (2002). The Cycads. Timber Press, Portland. 374 pp.
Haynes, J.L. (2022). Etymological compendium of cycad names. Phytotaxa 550(1): 1–31.