Encephalartos laurentianus

Encephalartos laurentianus, commonly called the malele or Kwango giant cycad, is a species of cycad that is native to northern Angola and southern Democratic Republic of Congo, along their common border on the Kwango River.^[2][3]

It is the largest of all cycads,^[4] with multiple stems both upright and prostrate, each as much as 15 m (49 ft) in length,^[2] and bearing a rosette of massive once-pinnate fronds 4–7 m (13–23 ft) in length, 70–100 cm (28–39 in) in width (the leaflets 35–50 cm (14–20 in) long and 4–7 cm (1.6–2.8 in) wide), and with a petiole or stalk up to 8 cm (3.1 in) thick where it joins the stem or trunk. Each stem can be up to 100 cm (39 in) thick.^[2][5][6][7] The pollen cones are 17–35 cm (6.7–13.8 in) long, and the seed cones 35–40 cm (14–16 in) long.^[2] This is also said to be the fastest growing cycad, producing up to five "flushes" (rosettes, or clusters) of leaves each year.^[8] The species was discovered in 1902 by Louis Gentil,^[9] and named after the 19th century Belgian botanist Emile Laurent.^[2]

• Media related to Encephalartos laurentianus at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Encephalartos laurentianus at Wikispecies