Ceratozamia miqueliana

Ceratozamia miqueliana is a cycad of south-eastern Mexico that grows in the evergreen tropical rainforests of southern Veracruz, Tabasco and Chiapas, from lowlands close to sea level up to 1,000 m (about 3,280 ft). Described in 1854, it is one of the oldest names in the genus Ceratozamia and one of its most widespread species. It is recognised by its broad, oblong, glossy leaflets and by a petiole bristling with sturdy prickles. It was once treated as a mere variety, Ceratozamia mexicana var. miqueliana. The IUCN assesses it as Endangered.

Key facts about Ceratozamia miqueliana

  • Accepted name: Ceratozamia miqueliana H.Wendl. (1854), accepted by The World List of Cycads (version 2026.08.15), by the 2022 monograph of the genus, by Species+ and by the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP, the database behind POWO, read via GBIF)
  • Former names and synonyms: Ceratozamia mexicana var. miqueliana (H.Wendl.) J.Schust. (1932); the WCVP adds Ceratozamia ghiesbrechtii Regel (1876)
  • Family: Zamiaceae, order Cycadales
  • Common names: no English name; “palmita” (Spanish) in Veracruz, also used for other species
  • Natural range: Mexico (southern Veracruz, Tabasco, Chiapas), 19 to 1,000 m
  • IUCN status: Endangered (EN A2acd; B2ab(iii,v); C2a(i)), assessment published in 2022
  • CITES and other protection: CITES Appendix I (whole genus, since 1985); Annex A in the European Union, seeds included
  • Documented hardiness: no measured data (see Cold hardiness)
  • Light and soil: in the wild, shallow soils in evergreen tropical rainforest; no published growing advice
  • Habit and adult size: above-ground trunk 45 to 75 cm long; 12 to 37 leaves, 0.35 to 2.6 m long
  • In the UK, US and Australia: declared to BGCI PlantSearch by Kew, nine American gardens and James Cook University in Townsville (see In cultivation)
  • Toxicity: no data for the species; treat it as poisonous, like all cycads (see Toxicity and precautions)

How to recognise Ceratozamia miqueliana

Ceratozamia miqueliana is recognised by the long, sturdy prickles on its petiole and by its oblong, paper-thin, hairless and glossy leaflets. According to the 2022 monograph of the genus, its ripe female cone is yellowish green with blackish hairs and ends in a drawn-out point. The monograph describes it as follows:

  • Trunk: above ground, 45 to 75 cm long and 16 to 18 cm in diameter, upright, then leaning; persistent, triangular, reddish-brown cataphylls, woolly when they emerge.
  • Leaves: 12 to 37, ascending, 35 to 261 cm long; light green and bluish-bloomed with brown hairs when they emerge, then hairless. The petiole, 31 to 97 cm long, pink when it emerges and then green, carries 8 to 60 sturdy prickles 2 to 6 mm long; the axis, pink and then yellowish green, is also prickly.
  • Leaflets: 12 to 23 pairs, oblong, flat, papery, green and hairless on both sides, with a drawn-out, asymmetrical tip; the middle ones measure 16 to 36 cm by 4.4 to 8.7 cm and are spaced 3 to 8.5 cm apart. The light-green veins are clearly visible.
  • Male cones: usually single, cylindrical and upright, 15 to 30 cm long and 3 to 4 cm across, greenish yellow with red hairs, then cream; stalk 3.5 to 5 cm long.
  • Female cones: single, cylindrical and upright, 22 to 30 cm long and 9 to 12 cm across, green with blackish hairs, yellowish green when ripe, with a drawn-out tip; stalk 7 to 12 cm long, upright or hanging. The 64 to 110 scales carry two straight horns 3.5 to 4.3 mm long.
  • Seeds: oval, 2.4 to 3 cm long, with a whitish-yellow to yellow flesh before ripening, light brown when ripe.

Its young leaves unroll from a crozier, and the monograph uses this species as its example of circinate vernation in the genus.

Hybrids

No natural or garden hybrid has been documented.

Possible confusion

Ceratozamia miqueliana gave its name to the “miqueliana complex”, a group of broad-leaved species of south-eastern Mexico and Central America. Several of its members were described from populations once referred to this species, so an old plant labelled miqueliana may belong to another species. The key published in 2023 with the description of Ceratozamia rosea separates the members of the complex as follows:

Outside this group, growers also confuse the large broad-leaved Ceratozamia, notably Ceratozamia mexicana, Ceratozamia latifolia and Ceratozamia robusta. Without cones or a known origin, a reliable identification is impossible.

Taxonomy

Ceratozamia miqueliana is accepted by The World List of Cycads, by the 2022 monograph, by Species+ and by the WCVP, the database behind POWO (read via GBIF on 30 October 2026), which places it in the Gulf and south-eastern regions of Mexico. Hermann Wendland published it in 1854 in his Index Palmarum (page 68).

Wendland cited neither a locality nor a specimen, and no type from 1854 is known. In 1986, Dennis Stevenson and Sergio Sabato designated a neotype: a plant collected by Stevenson on 5 July 1983 in the municipality of Santiago Tuxtla, Veracruz (collection 542 F, New York Botanical Garden herbarium, NY).

In 1932, Julius Schuster reduced the species to a variety of Ceratozamia mexicana, as Ceratozamia mexicana var. miqueliana. That rank is no longer followed: The World List of Cycads lists the name among the synonyms of Ceratozamia miqueliana, accepted as a species. The WCVP also places under it Ceratozamia ghiesbrechtii Regel, published in 1876 (Trudy Imp. S.-Peterburgsk. Bot. Sada 4: 299), a name not mentioned by The World List of Cycads.

Since the 2000s, the study of populations referred to this species has led to several related species being described or reinstated. Miguel Ángel Pérez-Farrera and colleagues reassessed the complex in 2009, and Lilí Martínez-Domínguez and colleagues showed in 2017 that it hides cryptic diversity, that is, species almost impossible to tell apart by eye (both summarised here after the 2022 monograph). In the 2023 phylogeny of the genus by Habib and colleagues, based on 3,954 nuclear genes, one of the three major clades bears the name of the species: in the Miqueliana clade, the miqueliana subclade groups the broad-leaved rainforest species of the complex, which rarely grow above 1,000 m, and the complex is one of only three traditional species groups that the study confirms as natural.

Etymology and history

The epithet honours Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel (1811–1871), a Dutch physician and botanist who successively directed the botanic gardens of Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Utrecht and was the leading figure in cycad studies in the 19th century (The World List of Cycads, after Haynes 2022). Miquel himself described several Ceratozamia in the 1840s, including Ceratozamia robusta and Ceratozamia latifolia.

The original description, about ten lines of Latin, is not based on a wild plant of known origin: Wendland notes “patria ignota”, homeland unknown. He describes a plant with leaves 3.5 feet long bearing five pairs of leaflets 8 to 9 inches long and 2.75 to 3 inches wide, which he separates from Ceratozamia latifolia by its longer and much broader leaflets. He dedicates the species to “Guil. Miquel”, director of the botanic garden of the University of Amsterdam, “who has written most learnedly on the family Cycadeae”. This lack of origin and specimen is what made a neotype from Veracruz necessary more than a century later. No source traces the introduction of the species into cultivation.

Common names

No English name is recorded. The 2022 monograph records the Spanish name “palmita” (“little palm”) in Veracruz, from a collection by John Rees at Moloacán. The name is also applied to other Ceratozamia and does not identify the species. Species+ also gives “palmita” as its Spanish name.

In the wild

Ceratozamia miqueliana grows on shallow soils in evergreen tropical rainforest, from 19 to 1,000 m (2022 monograph). It is one of the few lowland species of the genus: the monograph cites it as the one that goes lowest, down to 19 m in the plains of Veracruz.

It is among the most widely distributed species of the genus. The specimens examined in the monograph come from southern Veracruz (municipalities including Santiago Tuxtla, Catemaco, Mecayapan, Pajapan, Soteapan, Tatahuicapan de Juárez, Coatzacoalcos, Las Choapas, Moloacán and Nanchital), Tabasco (Huimanguillo) and Chiapas (Ocozocoautla de Espinosa).

No study of its pollination, cone calendar or population dynamics has been published.

Conservation status and regulation

Ceratozamia miqueliana is assessed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, in an assessment by J.D. Bösenberg published in 2022, under criteria A2acd; B2ab(iii,v); C2a(i): an observed decline of the population, a small and fragmented area of occupancy, and small, declining subpopulations. The category is given by The World List of Cycads and by the Red List data distributed through GBIF (checked on 30 October 2026). The 2022 monograph, written before this assessment was published, still cited the Critically Endangered category from an earlier version; the category used here is that of the published assessment.

According to the monograph, the rainforest of Veracruz has declined dramatically in recent decades, and most populations lie in areas of interest to the oil industry.

Like the whole genus, it has been covered by CITES Appendix I since 1 August 1985 (the genus had been in Appendix II since 1977), and by Annex A of Regulation (EC) No 338/97 in the European Union (annexes now set by Regulation (EU) 2026/1383, applicable since 29 June 2026), seeds included (Species+, checked on 30 October 2026). International trade in wild-collected plants for commercial purposes is banned; only artificially propagated plants with the required permits can be traded.

This general information does not replace the official texts: check the regulations in force before buying, importing or exchanging plants, and ask for proof of origin.

Growing Ceratozamia miqueliana

No growing advice specific to Ceratozamia miqueliana has been published, and no detailed grower’s report is documented. Its habitat, lowland and mid-altitude rainforest, points to partial shade, warmth, humidity and a free-draining mix. These pointers are drawn from its natural habitat and the general needs of the genus; they have not been confirmed by published trials.

Outdoor and in-ground cultivation

Ganna Walska Lotusland (Montecito, California) declares it to BGCI PlantSearch, but no garden publishes how it grows there or whether it is outdoors. As a lowland rainforest species, it is best suited outdoors to frost-free, humid climates, such as southern Florida or tropical Queensland.

Container cultivation

No container trial has been published. Its broad leaflets and moderate trunk suit a large pot in a warm glasshouse or conservatory; reduce watering in winter, since cycads rot in cold, wet compost.

In cultivation in the UK, US and Australia

Fifteen gardens worldwide declare the species to BGCI PlantSearch (queried on 30 October 2026). In the United Kingdom, only the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew does. In the United States, nine gardens declare it: Montgomery Botanical Center (Coral Gables, Florida; 4 accessions in its online catalogue), Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, the Huntington, Lotusland, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the United States Botanic Garden, the University of Hawaii at Hilo botanical garden and the US National Plant Germplasm System. In Australia, James Cook University in Townsville declares it. Whether these plants are grown outdoors or under glass is not stated, and older accessions may belong to other members of the complex.

Propagation

No data exist for the species. Like all Ceratozamia, it has separate male and female plants; it is propagated from fresh seed after pollination, by hand in cultivation. Handle seeds wearing gloves.

Pests and diseases

No pest or disease specific to the species has been documented. In cultivated Ceratozamia, growers mainly report rot in cold, sodden soil and leaf scorch after sudden exposure to sun.

Cold hardiness

No measured cold-hardiness value exists for Ceratozamia miqueliana. It is a lowland tropical forest plant: keep it frost-free until documented trials exist.

Mediterranean and European experience

No cultivation result has been published in Europe, either in the ground or in a pot, and the Jardin zoologique tropical in La Londe-les-Maures (Var, on the French Riviera) has published no observation of this species.

United Kingdom, United States and Australia

No dated cold record and no commercial hardiness rating backed by a trial have been published. In the UK it is a plant for a heated glasshouse.

Toxicity and precautions

No toxicity study specific to Ceratozamia miqueliana has been published. The risk is well documented in other cycads: their tissues, and above all their seeds, contain toxic glycosides (cycasin, macrozamin), from which methylazoxymethanol is derived, a compound harmful to the liver and nervous system. Dogs, livestock and people can be seriously poisoned. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, treat the plant as poisonous: keep seeds and leaves out of reach of children and animals, wear gloves to clean seeds, and if any part is swallowed, call a poison centre, a doctor or a vet straight away.

Traditional uses

According to the 2022 monograph, the leaves are used as decorations during festivities in Santiago Tuxtla, Veracruz. No food or medicinal use is reported for the species.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Ceratozamia miqueliana grow?

In south-eastern Mexico: southern Veracruz, Tabasco and Chiapas. It lives in tropical rainforest, from near sea level up to 1,000 m.

Is it a variety of Ceratozamia mexicana?

No, it is a species in its own right. The variety rank proposed in 1932 is no longer followed by The World List of Cycads or by the 2022 monograph.

How do I recognise it?

By its broad, oblong, papery and glossy leaflets and the sturdy prickles on its petiole. Several related species look similar: without cones or a known origin, identification remains uncertain.

Is it Critically Endangered or Endangered?

Endangered (EN). That is the category of the IUCN assessment published in 2022; the Critically Endangered listing cited in the 2022 monograph refers to an earlier version.

Can it take frost?

Nothing shows that it can. No dated trial exists; it is a lowland tropical forest plant, to be kept frost-free.

Who was Miquel?

Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel (1811–1871), a 19th-century Dutch botanist and a leading cycad specialist, who directed the botanic gardens of Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Utrecht.

Can I buy one?

Yes, but only cultivated plants with their paperwork. The whole genus is in CITES Appendix I and in Annex A of the EU regulation, seeds included.

Further reading on Succulentes

Sources

Reference sites

  • The World List of Cycads (version 2026.08.15), Ceratozamia miqueliana: https://cycadlist.org/scientific_name/36 — author, publication, neotype, synonym, range, IUCN status and criteria, etymology. Checklist of the IUCN Cycad Specialist Group, reliable; reread on 30 October 2026.
  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew), via GBIF, Ceratozamia miqueliana: https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/207874463 — accepted name, place of publication, synonyms (Ceratozamia ghiesbrechtii, Ceratozamia mexicana var. miqueliana), Gulf and south-eastern Mexico. Kew data, the basis of POWO, distributed by GBIF; consulted on 30 October 2026.
  • PubMed Central, monograph of Ceratozamia (PhytoKeys 208): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9849018/ — description, neotype, range, altitude, habitat, common name, uses, status, comparison with Ceratozamia zoquorum. Peer-reviewed article, open access.
  • PubMed Central, Phylotranscriptomics shed light on intrageneric relationships and historical biogeography of Ceratozamia (2023): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9921377/ — Miqueliana clade and miqueliana subclade. Peer-reviewed article, open access.
  • Phytotaxa, Ceratozamia rosea (Zamiaceae): a new species from the Northern Mountains of Chiapas, Mexico (2023), Plazi treatment: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.595.1.5 — key to the miqueliana complex. Peer-reviewed article; abstract and key (Plazi).
  • Species+ (UNEP-WCMC), Ceratozamia miqueliana: https://speciesplus.net/species#/taxon_concepts/15076/legal — CITES Appendix I since 1 August 1985 (listing of the genus), Annex A in the European Union, Spanish name. Official CITES and EU database; checked on 30 October 2026.
  • BGCI PlantSearch: https://plantsearch.bgci.org/ — fifteen gardens declaring the species. Global database of garden lists; queried on 30 October 2026.
  • Montgomery Botanical Center, living collection: https://www.montgomerybotanical.org/research/living-collection/ — 4 accessions of the species in its BG-BASE catalogue. Specialist cycad garden; catalogue queried on 30 October 2026.

Bibliography

  • Wendland, H. (1854). Index Palmarum, Cyclanthearum, Pandanearum, Cycadearum, p. 68. Hanover. [Original description.]
  • Stevenson, D.W. & Sabato, S. (1986). Typification of names in Ceratozamia Brongn., Dioon Lindl. and Microcycas A.DC. (Zamiaceae). Taxon 35(3): 578–584. [Designation of the neotype; reference given by The World List of Cycads and the 2022 monograph.]
  • Martínez-Domínguez, L., Nicolalde-Morejón, F., Vergara-Silva, F. & Stevenson, D.W. (2022). Monograph of Ceratozamia (Zamiaceae, Cycadales): an endangered genus. PhytoKeys 208: 1–102. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.208.80382 [Description, range, uses, status; open access.]
  • Pérez-Farrera, M.A., Vovides, A.P., Martínez-Camilo, R., Martínez-Meléndez, N. & Iglesias, C. (2009). A reassessment of the Ceratozamia miqueliana species complex (Zamiaceae) of southeastern Mexico, with comments on species relationships. Systematics and Biodiversity 7(4): 433–443. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1477200009990211 [Revision of the complex.]
  • Martínez-Domínguez, L., Nicolalde-Morejón, F., Vergara-Silva, F., Stevenson, D.W. & del Callejo, E. (2017). Cryptic diversity, sympatry, and other integrative taxonomy scenarios in the Mexican Ceratozamia miqueliana complex (Zamiaceae). Organisms Diversity & Evolution 17(4): 727–752. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-017-0341-7 [Cryptic diversity in the complex.]
  • García González, J., Pérez-Farrera, M.A., Gutiérrez-Ortega, J.S., Vovides, A.P. & Díaz Jiménez, P. (2023). Ceratozamia rosea (Zamiaceae): a new species from the Northern Mountains of Chiapas, Mexico. Phytotaxa 595(1): 73–88. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.595.1.5 [Key to the miqueliana complex; Plazi treatment.]
  • Habib, S., Gong, Y., Dong, S., Lindstrom, A., Stevenson, D.W., Wu, H. & Zhang, S. (2023). Phylotranscriptomics shed light on intrageneric relationships and historical biogeography of Ceratozamia (Cycadales). Plants 12(3): 478. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12030478 [Phylogeny of the genus; open access.]
  • Bösenberg, J.D. (2022). Ceratozamia miqueliana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T212187679A69866654. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T212187679A69866654.en [Red List assessment; category confirmed by GBIF.]
  • Haynes, J.L. (2022). Etymological compendium of cycad names. Phytotaxa 550(1): 1–31. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.550.1.1 [Source of the etymology given by The World List of Cycads.]
  • Calonje, M., Stevenson, D.W. & Osborne, R. (2026). The World List of Cycads, version 2026.08.15. Montgomery Botanical Center, Coral Gables. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21958524 [Reference checklist.]