Also known as the kaffir pine.
The species of this genus are considered living fossils, since they formed large forest communities 200 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period, when they formed part of the staple diet of herbivorous dinosaurs.
The name of its genus, Encephalartos, which derives from the Greek words en (inside), kephali (head) and artos (bread), refer to the use of its pith to make a foodstuff similar to bread.
