Zamia lacandona is a species of plant in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to Mexico, where it occurs only in the state of Chiapas, near Palenque and Agua Azul.[1]

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

This plant grows 15 to 60 centimeters tall from an underground caudex. It usually produces a single leaf up to 100 centimeters long by 80 wide. The leaf has up to 12 pairs of leaflets. The species is named for its native rainforest habitat, the Lacandon Jungle, the Selva Lacandona.[2]

This species is threatened by slash-and-burn agriculture. It can sometimes regenerate in degraded habitat that has been burned and cleared, and can be seen growing in agricultural fields and on roadsides.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Stevenson, D.W. (2010). "Zamia lacandona". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T42135A10663213. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T42135A10663213.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. ^ Schutzman, B., & Vovides, A. P. (1998). A new Zamia (Zamiaceae, Cycadales) from eastern Chiapas, Mexico. Novon, 441-446.