Cycads; tough, ornamental, and just cool

I never got to see the blue cycads that Quail Gardens had for a while because they got stolen from Quail Gardens before I ever moved down here... But I have blue African (Encephalartos) cycads of my own now!

I think that the Encephalartos longifolius \"blue\" is one of the coolest. Encephalartos princeps is also really cool. And I love Encephalartos nubimontanus partly because it is so rare. I think that my E. nubimontanus came from a notorious Australian super criminal. He was extridited and criminally prosecuted in this country. He 'snuck' into national parks in Africa, hand-pollinating cycads with pollin collected from miles away, and then 'snuck' back in a stole the ripe seed. And finally he grew and shipped the plants to the US under less rare variety names -- in violation of CITES laws.

Encephalartos longifolius


Encephalartos princeps


Encephalartos nubimontanus \"giant cupidus\" (It's 'bluer' now that the leaves have \"hardened\")