Latifrons

The beautiful broad leaves of E. latifrons may be 1m to 1,5m long with the top half or third, recurved or completely curled back. The mature leaf is hard and rigid, with a glossy dark green colour. The glossy rachis is clear and yellow. The young leaf is covered by fine hairs, which are lost with age. The petiole is 10cm to 20cm long and the leaf base has a conspicuous yellow-white collar.

The leaflets are attached to the rachis in a V-form, which is narrower towards the top of the leaf. The leaflets at the middle of the leaf are 10cm to 15cm long and 4cm to 6cm broad, excluding the lobes. The leaflets are 1,5cm to 2cm broad where they are attached to the rachis. The tips of the leaflets (and of the lobes) are pointed and fairly sharp. The upper margin of the leaflet is usually smooth, but may sometimes be toothed. The lower margin of the leaflet carries 2 to 4 triangular lobes, which are twisted out of the plane of the leaflet. The leaflets overlap upwards, especially in the top third of the leaf. Viewed from the side, the lowest lobes point downwards and the upper ones upwards, to form an interlocking pattern, which is very characteristic of the species. The leaflets are usually prominently nerved, especially on the under-side. The leaflets become more widely spread on the rachis towards the base of the leaf and become reduced in size. Only the very lowest ones sometimes become prickle-like, however. Some variation occurs in the appearance of the leaves, as is found in many other species. Some leaves are more sharply recurved than others while the leaflets may be generally smaller in some than in others. Some collectors believe that there areobservable differences between the leaves of male and female plants.

The only other species with which E. latifrons could be confused, and to which it is most closely related is E. arenarius. The following guidelines may be used to distinguish between the two:

E. latifrons only occurs in the inland Albany and Bathurst districts and its distribution area does not overlap with that of E. arenarius, which occurs only in the coastal Alexandria district.
E. latifrons is a tall-growing species with stems up to 3m tall, while E. arenarius stems are only up to 1m tall.
The leaves of E. latifrons have a shiny dark-green colour, while those of E. arenarius have a duller-green or bluish-green colour, with a bloom, especially when young.
The leaflets of E. latifrons form an interlocking pattern, especially in the top third part of the leaf. The leaflets of E. arenarius are also lobed, but are widely spaced.
E. latifrons forms up to 4 cones while E. arenarius bears single cones.
The cones of E. latifrons are olive-green or bluish-green in colour, while E. arenarius has light green cones.

Natural hybrids between E. latifrons and E. altensteinii have been reported, although these seem to be very rare. The leaflets of the hybrids overlap markedly like those of E. latifrons but lack the lobes on the leaflets. The leaves show the bright green colour of the E. altensteinii parent.

 Images:
 2. In Garden/Botanical Gardens
 4. Male cone
 5. Leaf Close-up
 7. Seed
 Localities/Forms:
 2. Trapps Valley
 3. Bathurst