E. lanatus, by contrast, is much more plentiful
and scattered around the area. From their size, and bearing in mind
their slow rate of growth, the wild examples must be very old indeed.
No doubt the dry atmosphere and warm, sunny days enable these plants
to withstand the colder nights.
The conference itself was held in Pretoria, the
'Jacaranda City', so named because of the literally thousands of
these trees that line the streets and present a real spectacle when
in bloom. At the venue on the university campus, we were joined
by many more delegates from South Africa and the rest of the world.
It was great to finally meet so many of the people I had been corresponding
with as well as those who were till now just names read in cycad
literature.
We were treated to several presentations during
the week on cycad topics covering many areas. A midweek visit to
a cycad nursery at Patryshoek with thousands of plants destined
for sale, as well as a visit to the national botanic garden broke
up the more academic sessions.
The National Garden in Pretoria not only has a good
variety of cycads but is also home to comprehensive 'reference'
collections such as Aloes, Stapeliads and Madagascan succulents
to name just a tiny few!
One highlight of this week was a surprise birthday
party for yours truly at our hotel complete with a cake bedecked
with a certain number of candles!
The week drew to a close with a farewell banquet
held at the aquarium of the Pretoria Zoo and a number of our party
then returned home. For the 26 of us that remained, the post conference
tour was awaited and the first leg of this was a flight down to
Durban in the province of Natal.
On the shores of the Indian Ocean and at a considerably
lower altitude than Pretoria on the Transvaal, Durban has a warm,
humid, subtropical climate and is located in the summer rainfall
area of South Africa.
Cycads in South Africa
