Tony, Encephalartos villosus, ancient cycad

Happy Tuesday! Are you ready for another new video series from one of our garden’s experts? Tuesdays with Tony starts - today!
Our Director of Horticulture, Tony Gurnoe, is taking us back to the beginning, to the days of dinosaurs as he introduces us to an ancient Cycad dating back to prehistoric times, before bees and butterflies even existed to pollinate plants. If you’re wondering how a prehistoric plant thrives in modern times, you’ll want to listen to how Tony and the team pollinate our Encephalartos villosus to keep this rare species alive.
Luckily, you don’t need a time machine to visit this prehistoric plant because it currently lives in our South Africa Garden. We hope you’ll pay it a visit the next time you’re here! And if you’re interested in including “dinosaur plants” in your home garden, be sure to visit our new plant shop near our Conservatory where you’ll find unique Cycads, like the Encephalartos trispinosus.

[@janicecole2722]

Thank you, Tony, very informative! 😉👍👍

[@robertpatterson-q8u]

Fascinating. Never knew that butterflies and bees did not exist at the time that cycads began.

[@josesoto9099]

🙏

[@aaronau1654]

What do you have for sale now

[@aaronau1654]

How can I buy one of those baby cycad?