Scientists in Search of Female Companion for the World's Loneliest Plant
"Surely this is the most solitary organism in the world," wrote palaeontologist Richard Fortey in his book about the evolution of life, referring to Encephalartos woodii (E. woodii). This remarkable plant, a native of South Africa, is a member of the ancient cycad family, known for their thick trunks and large, stiff leaves that form majestic crowns. These resilient survivors have outlasted dinosaurs and multiple mass extinctions, yet today they stand among the most threatened species on the planet. The story of E. woodii began in 1895 when botanist John Medley Wood discovered the only known wild specimen during a botanical expedition in the Ngoye Forest in South Africa. Despite thorough searches, no other specimens were found. Over the next few decades, botanists cultivated stems and offshoots from this lone plant in gardens. To protect it from potential destruction, the final stem was removed from the wild in 1916 and placed in a protective enclosure in P...
