Looking for a female partner for the world’s ‘loneliest’ plant

Map of the drone search for Encephalartos Woodii in the Ngoye Forest in South Africa. © C-LAB, CC BY NC” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/XZLvJ1ne2eyZoPRnOABF0A–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYxMA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_conversation_464/aa39f9b948f2a79f3cc3 e6aa724ee925″ data-src= “https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/XZLvJ1ne2eyZoPRnOABF0A–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYxMA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_conversation_464/aa39f9b948f2a79f3cc3e6aa724 ee925″/> Map of the drone search for Encephalartos Woodii in the Ngoye Forest in South Africa. © C-LABCC BY NC

“This is certainly the loneliest organism in the world,” wrote paleontologist Richard Fortey in his book on the evolution of life.

He was talking about it Encephalartos woodii (E. woodii), a plant from South Africa. E. woodii is a member of the cycad family, heavy plants with thick trunks and large stiff leaves ...