Zamia roezlii is a species of cycad, a palm-like pachycaulous plant in the family Zamiaceae. It is found in Colombia (Choco, Nariño, Valle del Cauca, and Amazonas departments) and the Pacific coast of Ecuador. It is named for the Czech botanist Benedikt Roezl. A single sperm cell from Zamia roezlii is about 0.4 mm in length and is visible to the unaided eye, being the world's largest plant sperm cell. Drosophila bifurca, a species of fruit fly, has sperm that are 5.8 cm long, albeit mostly coiled tail.[2] The tree is up to 22 feet (seven meters) in height with fronds up to ten feet (three meters) long bearing leaflets up to twenty inches (fifty centimeters) long and six inches (fifteen cm) wide.[3]>

Zamia roezlii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Cycadophyta
Class: Cycadopsida
Order: Cycadales
Family: Zamiaceae
Genus: Zamia
Species:
Z. roezlii
Binomial name
Zamia roezlii
Linden

References edit

  1. ^ Stevenson, D.W. (2010). "Zamia roezlii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T42178A10650286. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T42178A10650286.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. ^ Pitnick, S.; Spicer, G.S.; Markow, T.A. (1995). "How long is a giant sperm?". Nature. 375 (6527): 109. Bibcode:1995Natur.375Q.109P. doi:10.1038/375109a0. PMID 7753164. S2CID 4368953.
  3. ^ Stevenson, Dennis (April–June 2004). "Cycads of Colombia". Bot. Rev. 70 (2): 228. doi:10.1663/0006-8101(2004)070[0194:COC]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 27405158.