London Kew Gardens Repots 18th Century Cycad Plant

16th August, 2009

Ancient cycad, the King of Kew's Palm House, gets a new home
The oldest pot plant in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – believed to be one of the oldest pot plant in the world – is re-potted in Kew’s 250th year.

King of the Palm House, the huge Jurassic cycad, Encephalartos altensteinii (i), was collected by Kew’s first plant hunter Francis Masson, from the Eastern Cape region of South Africa in the early 1770s. Masson was commissioned by Sir Joseph Banks to step aboard the Resolution and join Captain Cook’s second voyage around the globe. This ancient plant, commonly known as the ‘Eastern Cape giant cycad’ arrived back at Kew Gardens in 1775, and has thrived in Kew’s majestic Palm House since it was built in 1848. This cycad was one of the first living collections to arrive at Kew, kick starting a legacy which makes the Gardens what they are today – a living collection of over 30,000 species of plants.

   Credit: Kew

Growing at an average rate only 2.5cm a year, the old knobbly trunk has slowly grown to its current length, reaching out 4 metres 40 centimetres. Due to its weight, unlike species in the wild this unique specimen stretches out sideways. It is supported by metal stilts, to ensure this fragile and historic plant is conserved and continues to grow. Now brimming from its pot, and in need of fresh compost, this is the first time Kew’s expert gardeners have re-potted this Kew icon, re-housing it into a brand new pot, a bespoke mahogany hardwood box hand crafted on site.

  Credit: Kew

Three months in the planning, the team have been working hard to ensure that everything is ready. Weighing a staggering tonne, a huge 4 metre high lifting gantry has been bought in, and the staff specially trained, to lift and support this large bulk of the cycad. While the root ball is lifted, it was all hands on deck as a team of 5 Kew gardeners were on hand to support its outstretched trunk with stilts. The team worked quickly to pull out the old pot and quickly construct the new one around the lifted root ball. All the plants surrounding the cycad have been moved away, to allow for enough space to carry out this technical procedure.

The last operation of this level and complexity was in 1984 when the cycad was top dressed with earth and compost and removed from the Palm House for 4 years while the building was restored.

Wes Shaw, Keeper of the Palm House, says "Cycads are fascinating prehistoric plants, and this one is one of the most unique plants in Kew Gardens.It’s the don of the Palm House, and has been slowly growing year by year since the Gardens began.

"Although it was hot and humid work, the repotting of the Encephalartos altensteninii went very well. The months of planning paid off as the team got the job done quickly and efficiently and most importantly without damaging this precious plant.

"When I think of how many gardeners have cared for this plant over the years, it gives me a real sense of the heritage and importance of the living collection that we are all responsible for here at Kew - and the incentive to ensure it keeps on thriving through my time in the Palm House. This year is Kew's 250th anniversary and it is quite fitting that we re-housed one of oldest residents in our anniversary year."

Pre-dating flowering plants, the cycad family is a botanical throw back to the dinosaur era, producing large cones(ii) rather than flowers. They are a very primitive type of plant which can live to 500 years or longer, and therefore provide clues to botanists as to what early plant life was like. Kew has one of the oldest and most diverse cycad collections in the world, including the now extinct Encephalartos woodii, which is located in Temperate House.

A brief history:

The plant was brought to Kew in 1775, by one Kew’s first plant collectors Francis Masson (for more information see http://www.kew.org/heritage/people/masson.html), most probably as a seed from the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.
The Cycad has grown in the Palm House ever since it was built, only been removed for four years in the 1980’s of the restoration of the Palm House.
It was last re-potted and re-boxed in the early nineties by Dave Cooke, Kew horticulturist.
There can be long intervals between plants producing cones, in the case of this plant it last coned in 1819, and was witnessed by Joseph Banks on his last visit to Kew before he died.
Where to find cycads:
The main hotspots for cycad populations are; Southern Africa, South and Central America, and Australia.

About cycads:

Cycads are cone bearing plants that grow as either male or female plants. Male plants produce long slender cones; female cones are shorter and wider.
Cycads grow very slowly at 2.5cm a year. Might be better to say that cycads ‘generally’ grow slowly as there are saps that do grow faster, and that our specimen has been recorded at growing 2.5cm a year.
Cycads pollinated by weevils, beetles and the wind.
All parts of the plant are toxic.
On average plants grow to 3-4 metres tall
Cycads can live for over 500 years
The cycad family of plants, predating flowering plants, are a botanical throw back to the dinosaur era. They are still relatively similar to how they were millions of years ago, so they are important to scientists as a clue to early plant life.
There are many economic uses for cycads; they are used as a food source when properly detoxified. Used to make alcoholic drinks, used in ornamental horticulture, and used medicinally to treat ulcers sores and boils.