Encephalartos cycadifolius is a species of cycad that is native to the Winterberg mountains to the north of Bedford in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa.

[3] This cycad has an underground trunk, reaching up to 1.5 m in height and 25-30 cm in diameter.

The leaves consist of numerous pairs of lanceolate leaflets, about 9-12 cm long, with an entire margin, and are olive-green in color.

This species is dioecious, with male specimens bearing 1 or 2 cylindrical-conical cones, 13–22 cm long and 5–7 cm broad, covered in a greyish tomentum.

The seeds are roughly ovoid, 20–30 mm long, and covered by a yellow-orange to amber sarcotesta.