bread-tree

South African tree Encephalartos altensteinii, one of the 35 species of the Encephalartos, a tropical and African genus of the fern-palm family Cycadaceae. The tree can grow to 5 m/16 ft, and female plants produce large cones that can weigh as much as 30 kg. The seeds that develop on these cones, and also the pith of the trunk, are rich in edible starch.