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Species library › Encephalartos › Encephalartos trispinosus
Other Well documented

Encephalartos trispinosus

A small blue-grey cycad from the Eastern Cape of South Africa, with a stem up to about 1 m tall, offsets, and stiff leathery leaves to 1.4 m with spined lower margins. It is listed as Vulnerable and on CITES Appendix I; in cultivation it wants full sun, very sharp drainage and a drier, cooler winter.

Encephalartos trispinosus
Photo: Raffi Kojian, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Rocky slopes in dry thicket and scrub of the Eastern Cape river valleys, in full sun. The species-level page gives only the province; the thicket habitat is inferred from the region and its relatives.

The one measured site is about 400 m, based on a single record with rounded coordinates.

Eastern CapeSouth Africa

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.