Kaffir Bread, Hottentot bread, Mombasa cycad
Encephalartos hildebrandtii
Family: Zamiaceae
What it is like
A medium to large sized cycad. The trunk can be 6 m tall. There are new suckers near the base. The young leaves are reddish or brown. They have fine hairs. The mature leaves form a rounded crown. They are 2-3 m long by 30-60 cm wide. The leaf stalk is 2-7 cm long and it is swollen at the base. The leaflets are narrow and the lower leaflets from short spines. The cones are different. The male cones are 20-50 cm long by 5-9 cm wide. They are greenish yellow and with 3-8 on each stem. The fruit stalks are 5-25 cm long. The female cones are 28-60 cm long by 15-25 cm wide. They are barrel shaped and there are 2-4 on each stem. The fruit stalks are 4-6 cm long. The seeds are 3-3.8 cm long by 1.5-2 cm wide. They can be red, yellow or orange and are angular.
There are 52 Encephalartos species.
Where it is found
They suit tropical and subtropical climates. They need a sunny position and good drainage. They cannot tolerate frost. It grows in sparse deciduous forests and in grassland. They grow from sea level to 600 m altitude. They grow in regions with hot humid summer climates and mild dry winter climates. These places have a summer rainfall of 1000-1400 mm per year. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.
Countries/locations it is found in
Africa, Asia, Australia, East Africa, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, SE Asia, Singapore, South Africa (country/location of origin), Southern Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zanzibar
How it is used for food
Flour is prepared from the seeds after they have been boiled and dried. Caution: The seeds are eaten as a famine food but are reported to cause liver cancer. The starch of the trunk can be extracted and used for food. It is chopped and heaped for a week to allow fermentation then it is washed in hot water and sun dried before pounding into flour and using in porridge.
It is a famine food.
Edible parts
Seeds, sago from stems, pith, fruit
How it is grown
Plants are grown from seed or by removal of suckers. Suckers transplant easily.
Its other names
Local names
Balacha, Icheli, Mgwede, Mkamwa, Mkwanga, Msapo, Muka, Sikas mombasa