CONSERVATION STATUS:
-
Threatened.
CULTIVATION:
- Semi shade.
- Regular watering.
- Leaves are frost sensitive, but the stem is usually not affected. (Subterranean.)
PROPAGATION:
- Fast grower from seed.
- Propagated from seed and sometimes suckers.
NATURAL HABITAT:
- Wide distribution from East London in the Eastern Cape to KwaZulu Natal into
Swaziland. - Plants grow in forests and humid areas.
STEM:
- Subterranean, erect stem that can attain a length of 40 cm – 50 cm.
- Stem apex is covered by grey woolly cataphylls.
LEAVES:
- Glossy to dull dark green on the upper side and slightly lighter green on the lower side.
- Leaves are stiff with a length of 1 to 3 meters long.
- Leaflets do not shield one another.
- Leaflet margins usually have 1 – 5 teeth on both margins but the plants from the northern areas may have entire leaflet margins.
- The length and width of the leaflets of the different localities may differ
considerably, as well as the size of the teeth.
