Encephalartos villosus is a South African cycad occurring from the East London vicinity, where it is found near the coast, to the northern border of Eswatini (Swaziland) where it may grow as far as 100 km inland.

The species is common throughout its range and is the most frequently cultivated in Southern Africa, largely because of its affordable price.

As a result of its large geographical distribution, it is notably variable in leaf and cone shape.

The crown normally consists of tightly-packed bracts covered in dense grey woolly hair (villosus = hairy).

The seeds, embedded in bright-red flesh are eaten and distributed by the purple-crested lourie (Tauraco porphyreolophus) and by the trumpeter hornbill (Bycanistes bucinator).