A Cycad Without a Forest

The Encephalartos woodii (E. woodii) is a rare cycad, classified as "extinct in the wild," known solely from a single pollen-producing specimen removed from its natural habitat. The species has been preserved in cultivation through clonal propagation, with all existing specimens being genetic replicas that produce only pollen cones. As a dioecious species requiring an ovulate (seed-bearing) counterpart for sexual reproduction, E. woodii remains reproductively static, dependent on human intervention. This article explores the author's technologically mediated search for an ovulate E. woodii in the oNgoye Forest, its last known habitat. More broadly, it interrogates the unintended legacies of colonial extraction, the heteronormative framings embedded in E. woodii's conservation narrative, and the ethical dilemmas surrounding the data extraction used in this search. Through a series of artistic interventions, including drone-based imaging, algorithmic identifications, and speculative inquiries into sexual plasticity, the article raises the question of whether these efforts constitute restoration or a reengineering of extinction itself.