Zamia fischeri

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Figure 1. Z. fischeri leaflets.

Synonymy:

Zamia forsteri
Zamia tenuifolia

Conservation Status:

Endangered

Distribution & Habitat:

Well-drained evergreen pine forest in San Luis Potosi and Quertaro, Mexico.

Description:

A small cycad with a subterranean trunk, and leaves to about 30cm long. It has thin paperish leaflets that hang down. Often mistaken for a fern. Please also note that a very small plant can have massive tuberous root growth and can produce many cones. The female cone pictured (being held in the hand) is 1 of 4 from the same small plant. Another young multi-headed female plant produced 13 cones in the same season.

General:

Very similar to Zamia vazquezii. Z. fischeri has fewer, shorter, leaves, and less than 12 pairs of leaflets.

Culture:

Sunny, moist, but well drained position. An easy and attractive plant. Unfortunately quite rare in cultivation, with most plants labelled (and sold) as such are in fact Zamia vazquezii.

Figure 2. Female cone of Z. fischeri.

Figure 3. Nice plant of Z. fischeri.

Contributed by:

Mike Gray (Figure 2)
Colin Wilson (Figure 1&3)

External Links:

World List, IUCN, JSTOR, Trebrown

Google, GoogleImages, Flickr,