Encephalartos msinganus

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Encephalartos msinganus is a critically endangered cycad from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is a tree-like plant with a stem up to about 3 meters tall and 35 cm in diameter. The leaves are light green, stiff, and 110–150 cm long, with leaflets 14–17 cm long that sit opposite each other on the rachis at about a 60-degree angle. The margins are smooth and the tip ends in a sturdy spine; the oldest leaves at the base are smaller and often spiny.

This species is dioecious, meaning individual plants are male or female. Male cones are ovoid, pale yellow, 30–40 cm long and 11–12 cm wide, with up to four cones per plant. Female cones are about the same shape but larger, around 42 cm long and 22 cm in diameter, and may have thin brown hair; usually a plant bears one or two cones. The seeds are oblong and covered by a red sarcotesta.

Encephalartos msinganus belongs to the family Zamiaceae. It is listed in CITES Appendix I and is considered critically endangered by the IUCN.