Encephalartos caffer

*Encephalartos afer*, still widely encountered in horticultural writing as *E. caffer*, is a compact cycad of the Eastern Cape grasslands. Its woolly crown and light-green, leathery leaves create a low architectural accent, and the whole plant rarely exceeds about 1.2 m in height. ## Form and setting In the wild this cycad grows on rocky grassland slopes, often among rocks. It is adapted to hot summers and seasonal rainfall, but is sensitive to frost. Its mature foliage is light green and leathery; young leaflets can have a few marginal teeth before becoming entire. [SANBI PlantZAfrica](https://pza.sanbi.org/encephalartos-caffer) describes the plant and its Eastern Cape habitat. ## Garden placement Choose a protected garden position in a warm-summer climate and allow the crown room to spread. The species grows well in a sheltered setting and is easy to raise from seed, but grows slowly and takes time to recover after relocation or transplanting. Avoid unnecessary root disturbance. The botanical spelling was corrected to *E. afer* under the Madrid Code; [IPNI records the corrected name and its nomenclatural note](https://www.ipni.org/n/297071-1). ## Maintenance Keep the plant in a stable, protected position and inspect the leaves and cones for scale insects and mealybugs. If growing or collecting seed, note that seed production in cultivation requires hand pollination. Keep plants and seed from documented, lawful sources; cycads are protected through international trade controls.