  Ceratozamia range map (1). | Ceratozamia euryphyllydia Vazquez, Torres, Sabato & D. Stevenson 1986Common NamesTaxonomic notesDescription"A small cycad which in nature develops a slender trunk to about 20 cm tall and 10 cm across. Young leaves light green, translucent, sparsely hairy. Mature leaves less than ten in a crown, 2-3.2 m long, obliquely erect to spreading, dark green, glabrous; petiole 60-90 cm long, expanded at the base, armed with robust spines; leaflets twelve to twenty-six on each leaf, 18-30 cm × 9-16 cm, obovate to oblanceolate, thin-textured and almost membranous to translucent, dark green above, blue-green beneath, with numerous, prominent rigid veins, the distal margins wavy, apex asymmetrically acuminate. Male cones 20-28 cm × 2-3 cm, cylindrical, greenish red when young, grey when mature, usually solitary; sporophylls 7-10 mm × 6-9 mm, with two horns 1-2 mm long; peduncle 6-8 cm long, woolly. Female cones 15-20 cm × 4-5cm, cylindrical, wine red when young, brown when mature, usually solitary; sporophylls 1.5-3 cm × 1.5-2 cm, with two stout horns separated by many fine ridges; peduncle to 12 cm long. Seeds 2.3-2.7 cm × 1.8-2 cm, ovoid, smooth, cream to white."This distinctive species is readily recognised by its large leaves and broad, thin-textured to almost papery or translucent leaflets which taper to the base and have wavy margins" (1). RangeMexico: Veracruz, "near the Oaxaca border at about 120 m altitude, growing in wet, tropical evergreen rainforest. ... This species ... is known from only about thirty plants, and precise locality details were not presented in the original publication in an attempt to protect the species in the wild from extinction by collectons" (1).Big TreeOldestDendrochronologyEthnobotanyAlthough potentially useful as an ornamental, "[t]his species is rare in cultivation and experience is limited. With its large attractive leaves this is one of the most distinctive species of Ceratozamia" (1).ObservationsSeattle's Volunteer Park Conservatory has one.RemarksThe epithet euryphyllidia means "with broad leaflets."Citations(1) Jones 1993. |
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