The Wild Cycad Conservancy
WCC restoration projects provide new hope for cycads
Cones of E. dolomiticus (Image right).
OUR NEWS
Wild Cycad Conservancy (WCC) received its nursery permit from the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) and our gene bank is beginning to produce material for restoration projects. Female cones of Encephalartos dolomiticus, E. laevifolius Wolkberg and E. dyerianus were pollinated successfully.
To fully utilise this asset, WCC entered into a research agreement with the University of Pretoria to germinate and grow the seed to a size where the plants can be successfully reintroduced to safe places that are either in the known distribution range
of the species or very close to it.
Left: Cones of E. dolomiticus
Middle: Curator of the University of Pretoria’s Cycad Collection, Arnold Frisby, and his colleague with seedlings of E. dolomiticus.
Right: Cones of E. dyerianus
Meet this cycad expert…
Curator of the University of Pretoria’s Cycad Collection, Arnold Frisby, is a key collaborator and known for his cycad knowledge. Arnold has curated the collection since 2016. The collection is over 100 years old, and encompasses most of the world’s cycad taxa, with a particular focus on the African genus of cycads, namely Encephalartos.
This collection has many functions, from being a form of “living art” which showcases these plants as part of our planet’s natural history, to being part of active research on the topics of plant evolution, taxonomy and conservation. Arnold also manages a cycad and indigenous plant nursery, where legally cultivated cycad seedlings in particular are made available to the public.
Developing best practices for translocations
Arnold has experience in threatened plant conservation translocations, including translocations of medicinal plants, Encephalartos lebomboensis (outside its natural range), and a Critically Endangered aloe, Aloe peglerae.
Through this experience, various best practices for translocations have been identified, particularly in scenarios where little or no “aftercare”, such as watering, can be given to the plants. These best practices include, for example, the “hardening off” of seedlings and plants, prior to translocation, the use of drought-enhancing bio-stimulants during cultivation and adequate in-sito recipient site microhabitat selection.
Our PROJECTS
The Wild Cycad Conservancy (or WCC) takes a three-pronged approach to cycad conservation.