The following species are not described here. Interested readers are referred to the excellent descriptions provided by |
Zamia Linnaeus 1762
Common NamesMaw'-ti-ree-na (Kubuyari); koo (Karapaná and Tanimuka) (all are tribes of northwest Amazonia) (3).Taxonomic notesThe taxonomy of the genus is in a state of flux and "a significant monograph on Neotropical cycads will appear in Flora Neotropica in the near future." The genus consists of about 55 to 60 species, including about 12 undescribed species (1). Fifty-four are listed here.Description"Stems often branched, subterranean to aboveground. Leaves broadly oblong-elliptic; leaflets entire to coarsely dentate, without midribs, venation dichotomous but appearing parallel. Cones distinctly peduncled. Pollen cones more slender than seed cones. x = 8" (2).RangeNeotropical: USA:Florida, Puerto Rico; Mexico; Central America; South America to Bolivia (1).Big TreeOldestDendrochronologyEthnobotanyPharmacological studies have found glycosides of methylazoxymethanol, macrozamine and cycasine. Some species are used in Brazil as an antidote to snakebite (3).ObservationsRemarksFirst known from 3 species described in lower Eocene deposits in Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee (1).Derivation of the name Zamia is "equivocal, perhaps from misreading of Latin azania, a kind of pine cone, or from Latin zamia, loss, from the "sterile appearance" of the pollen cones" (2). Citations(1) Jones 1993.(2) Garrie P. Landry in the Flora of North America online. (3) Schultes & Raffauf 1990. See also: Calaway H. Dodson. 1998. A new species of Zamia (Zamiaceae) from Ecuador. Novon 8: 12-14. W.H. Duncan. 1979. Zamia (Cycadaceae) new for Georgia. Sida 8:115-116. J.E. Eckenwalder. 1980a. Dispersal of the West Indian cycad Zamia pumila L. Biotropica 12:79-80. J.E. Eckenwalder. 1980b. Taxonomy of the West Indian cycads. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 61:701-722. J.W. Hardin. 1971. Studies of the southeastern United States flora. II. The gymnosperms. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Science Society 87:43-50. G.P. Landry. 1980. The ecology and variation of Zamia pumila L. in Florida. M.S. thesis. Louisiana State University. D.W. Stevenson. 1993. The Zamiaceae in Panama with comments on phytogeography and species relationships. Brittonia 45: 1-16. Ward, D.B., ed. N.d. Rare and Endangered Biota of Florida. Vol. 5. Plants. Gainesville. Pp. 122-124. | |
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