Encephalartos hildebrandtii is an evergreen, palm-like tree with a stout unbranched bole covered with leaf scars and topped with a rosette of many, long leaves. The plant can reach up to 6 metres tall, though it is often much shorter. The dark green, arching, pinnate, leaves can be 3 metres long, the leaf stalk bearing about 80 pairs of stiff, tough and leathery leaflets, 15 - 35 cm long.
The plant is harvested from the wild for use as an emergency food in times of shortage. It is often grown as an ornamental.
Habitat destruction as a result of urban expansion, coastal resort development, and agricultural expansion is having a direct impact on this species. Former large subpopulations of the species have been lost as result. The plant is classified as 'Near Threatened' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2011).

Known Hazards

Consumption of the seeds can lead to liver cancer.
We have no further specific information for this species, but most if not all members of this genus are believed to contain toxins. The two main toxic compounds that have been identified are cycasin and macrozamin. When ingested in sufficient quantities, these compounds are extremely poisonous to humans and many other animals, and have been shown to cause liver damage and cancer. Cycasin and macrozamin have a cumulative effect upon the body and are suspected of causing neurological disorders when ingested in small amounts over long periods of time.
There is a long history of human use of this genus as a starch-rich food, but it should be noted that the plants needed to be treated in various ways in order to remove any toxic principles. Caution should be exercised even with properly prepared foods, since even then regular consumption may lead to severe health problems and death. Since many of these species are becoming increasingly rare in the wild, this is probably a food best left to times of food shortage when other, better foods, are not available

Habitat

Coastal evergreen bushland, lowland forest and dry montane rainforest on red loams and sandy soil, at elevations from sea level to 1,200 metres. Sandy plains and rocky hill tops.

Cultivation Status

Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Although Encephalartos hildebrandtii grows at or near sea level, and almost on the equator, it exhibits an unusual amount of cold tolerance and is able to survive in the warmest parts of the temperate zone as well. In the warmer portions of southern California, for example, it rows with apparent ease, only suffering defoliation or leaf burn during extreme winters.
An easily grown plant, happy in either full sun or shade, and adaptable to extremes of moisture. An almost universal requirement for cycads is a well-drained but moisture-retentive soil, and by far the best soils are sandy gravels and light loams which provide the required drainage and aeration necessary for good growth. Cycads will generally not grow well in clay soils unless those soils are heavily amended with sand and organic matter. A neutral soil (pH 7), is generally best for most species of cycads and allows the proper absorption of nutrients. A slightly acid soil is better for most cycads than a basic one.
The plant produces occasional suckers.
Cycad species can usually be transplanted easily even when quite large. The best time for moving them is just before the beginning of a new growing season, the roots being trimmed if they are damaged and perhaps some leaves being removed. New roots should develop quickly as the season progresses.
Species in this genus form structures known as coralloid roots. These roots branch off from the taproot or secondary roots and are distinctive in that they grow laterally or upward, forming a nodular mass at the apex. These coralloid roots occur slightly below or slightly above the soil surface and generally contain cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae. These are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen and make it available as a nutrient to the plant. The ability to extract this important nutrient from the air explains how many cycad species are able to survive on almost sterile soil.
A dioecious species, with individual plants producing either all male or all female cones. Therefore, both male and female forms of the plant need to be grown if seed is required.
On very rare occasions, usually when a plant has been under severe stress, it can change sex and produce either all female or all male cones.
Encephalartos species always produce full-sized seeds, even if the cone has not been pollinated, in which case the resulting seed is not viable but appears normal in every other respect.

Edible Uses

Caution should be exercised in the use of this plant for food - see notes above on toxicity.
A flour is obtained from the trunk and used in times of famine. The lower part of the trunk is peeled and chopped or sliced. The slices are either left in a heap or soaked in water for a week to ferment, then washed and dried in the sun, after which they are pounded and sieved into a flour. The flour is used to make a porridge or made into a thick paste called 'ugali'.
Seeds - cooked
The husks of the seeds are dried then ground into a flour and used in the preparation of a porridge known as 'Ugali', which is eaten as a staple food.
Another report says that the seed kernel is cut into thin slices that are then dried in the sun for 1 - 2 days before being ground into a fine flour. This flour is placed in a pail of water, the water changed daily for 8 days, and the resultant course flour is sun dried and then ground into a fine powder, which is ready for consumption.
The seed is generally eaten in times of food shortage, but now known to potentially cause liver cancer.
The oblong seeds are 30 - 38mm long, 15 - 20mm wide.
It is said that the cycad flour stores well and can be kept indefinitely.
A gum obtained from the plant is eaten by children.

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses

None Recorded

Other Uses

A clear yellow to pale brown gum can be obtained from the plant.

Propagation

Seeds - best sown as soon as they are ripe, though the seeds of many species will take a few months to finish maturing the embryo before they are ready to germinate. Sow the seeds in a tray in a freely-draining medium and place in moderate shade. Bottom heat at about 27°c will hasten seed germination dramatically. Young roots are quite brittle and once germination takes place; the root grows rapidly. It is important to pot up the seedlings at this time in order to give them enough root-space. Grow on the plants in pots until large enough to plant out.
Division of off-sets or suckers is best carried out just before the plant comes in to new growth at the start of the growing season.