Ceratozamia morettii: Identification, Habitat and Status

Ceratozamia morettii is a small cycad of central Veracruz, Mexico, endemic to the Sierra de Chiconquiaco, where it clings to cliffs and rocks in cloud forest between 1,150 and 1,850 m (about 3,770 to 6,070 ft), and sometimes even grows on tree trunks. Described in 1998 and named after the Italian botanist Aldo Moretti, this species of the genus Ceratozamia forms low, often branched clumps with few drooping leaves, broad leaflets with translucent veins, and new leaves that unroll like a fern frond. The IUCN assesses it as Endangered.

Key facts about Ceratozamia morettii

Accepted name: Ceratozamia morettii Vázq.Torres & Vovides (1998), 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: none
Family: Zamiaceae, order Cycadales
Common names: no English name; in Veracruz, “tepemaizte” or “tepetmaizte”, “palmita” and “palmilla”
Natural range: Mexico, central Veracruz (Sierra de Chiconquiaco: municipalities of Chiconquiaco, Landero y Coss, Tenochtitlán and Yecuatla), 1,150 to 1,850 m; not known from any other country
IUCN status: Endangered (EN A2c; B1ab(iii,v)), 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 data (see Cold hardiness)
Light and soil: in the wild, cliffs and very steep slopes in shady cloud forest, on karst rocks according to the 2022 monograph, or on weathered basalt and volcanic clay according to the original description; no published growing advice
Habit and adult size: short trunk, 20 to 50 cm, often branched; 3 to 30 leaves, 0.8 to 2 m long (1 to 1.4 m in the original description)
In the UK, US and Australia: three American gardens declare it to BGCI PlantSearch; none in the UK or Australia (see In cultivation)
Toxicity: no data for the species; treat it as poisonous (see Toxicity and precautions)

How to recognise Ceratozamia morettii

Ceratozamia morettii forms a small, low, often branched plant with few drooping leaves. Its leaflets are broad and oblong, green above and glaucous beneath, with pale, translucent veins, and its young leaves, light green, unroll like a crozier. The 2022 monograph describes it as follows:

Trunk: above ground, upright then lying down, 20 to 23 cm long (up to 50 cm) and 20 to 35 cm in diameter; persistent, triangular, reddish-brown cataphylls, densely woolly when they emerge.
Leaves: 3 to 30, drooping, 82 to 200 cm long; light green with brown hairs when they emerge, then hairless. The petiole, 30 to 90 cm long, carries 8 to 60 thin, short prickles.
Leaflets: 10 to 23 pairs, oblong, leathery, green and hairless above, glaucous beneath, with a drawn-out, asymmetrical tip; the middle ones measure 17.5 to 41 cm by 2.6 to 4.3 cm.
Male cones: single, cylindrical, upright, 12 to 22 cm long (up to 35.5 cm) and 3.8 to 5.2 cm across, brownish yellow, then greenish yellow with blackish down; stalk 3 to 7 cm long. The two horns of each scale meet at an acute angle.
Female cones: single, globose, upright, 14 to 20 cm long and 8 to 10 cm across, green with blackish hairs when ripe, with a short point; stalk 4 to 7 cm long. The scales carry two straight horns at right angles.
Seeds: oval to globose, 1.5 to 2.3 cm long, with whitish-yellow to yellow flesh before ripening, light brown when ripe.

The original description (Vázquez-Torres and Vovides, 1998) describes a more compact plant: a half-buried, globose to cylindrical trunk up to 30 cm long, typically with one to four branches; at most 10 leaves per crown, usually 4 to 7, 1 to 1.4 m long, spreading to lying flat and forming an open crown; 12 to 25 pairs of linear to sickle-shaped leaflets, 25 to 35 cm by 2.7 to 4.8 cm, described as papery rather than leathery, with pale yellow, translucent veins and a slightly wavy edge towards the tip; a male cone 10 to 15 cm long and a female cone 12 to 16 cm long, both on stalks 5 to 7 cm long. It counted 2n = 16 chromosomes, the usual number in the genus.

Hybrids

No natural or garden hybrid has been documented.

Possible confusion

According to the 2022 monograph, the species with the most similar leaves is Ceratozamia delucana, of the Sierra Norte de Puebla and central Veracruz, a larger plant overall. The cones settle it: in Ceratozamia morettii, the horns of the male cone scales form an acute angle and the ripe female cone is green, covered in blackish hairs, with a short point; in Ceratozamia delucana, the male horns form a right angle and the ripe female cone is green and hairless, with a sharper tip.

Two other species share the Sierra de Chiconquiaco: Ceratozamia brevifrons and Ceratozamia tenuis. In the key to the latifolia complex published in 2022 with the description of Ceratozamia reesii, Ceratozamia morettii is recognised by its light-green young leaves and oblong leaflets, whereas Ceratozamia brevifrons has yellowish-green young leaves.

Taxonomy

Ceratozamia morettii 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 of Mexico region. It was described by Mario Vázquez-Torres and Andrew Vovides in Novon (8(1): 87–90, 1998), in an article entitled “A new species of Ceratozamia (Zamiaceae) from Veracruz, Mexico”.

The holotype was collected on 7 January 1992 by Vázquez-Torres and H. Barney (no. 4097) and is held in the CIB herbarium of the Universidad Veracruzana, with duplicates at CIB, MEXU and XAL. The original description deliberately left out the exact locality; the 2022 monograph places it in the municipality of Landero y Coss, at about 1,500 m.

The authors of 1998 placed the species among the broad-leafleted Ceratozamia and linked it to a group of plants with a small, branched trunk, few leaves and small cones, from moist habitats, such as Ceratozamia miqueliana, Ceratozamia microstrobila (now included in Ceratozamia latifolia) and Ceratozamia mexicana var. robusta (now Ceratozamia robusta). They considered its circinate vernation, the way its young leaves unroll, unique in the genus; the 2022 monograph, however, gives Ceratozamia miqueliana as the example of circinate vernation. In the 2023 phylogeny of the genus by Habib and colleagues, Ceratozamia morettii belongs to the latifolia subclade of the Mexicana clade, together with Ceratozamia mexicana, Ceratozamia tenuis, Ceratozamia delucana and Ceratozamia fuscoviridis.

Etymology and history

The epithet honours Aldo Moretti, of the Orto Botanico and the Institute of Plant Biology of the University of Naples Federico II, in Italy, for his contributions to cycad biology, including his studies of their chromosomes (original description; 2022 monograph).

The species was collected long before it was named: the 2022 monograph cites a specimen gathered by C.J.W. Schiede in September 1829, held at Xalapa, then collections by Andrew Vovides and John Rees in the 1970s and 1980s. The chromosome counts of the original description were made on three plants grown at the Francisco Javier Clavijero botanic garden of the Instituto de Ecología in Xalapa.

Common names

No English name is recorded. According to the original description, the species is known locally as “tepetmaizte” or “tepemaizte”, “forest maize”, because its cones resemble a corn cob. The 2022 monograph also records “palmita” and “palmilla” (“little palm”) from herbarium labels, names applied to several Mexican cycads.

In the wild

According to the 2022 monograph, Ceratozamia morettii is endemic to the Sierra de Chiconquiaco, in central Veracruz, where it grows in cloud forest on karst rocks and cliffs between 1,150 and 1,850 m; the specimens examined come from the municipalities of Chiconquiaco, Landero y Coss, Tenochtitlán and Yecuatla. The monograph counts it among the micro-endemic species of the genus. The WCVP and The World List of Cycads also restrict it to Veracruz.

The original description describes a somewhat different setting: slopes of 45 to 60 degrees or vertical walls of loose, weathered basalt, on a humus-rich, greyish-yellow clay of volcanic origin, between 1,200 and 1,400 m. The nearest weather station recorded a mean annual temperature of 17.3 °C (63.1 °F) and more than 1,900 mm of rain a year. The cloud forest around it includes Liquidambar macrophylla, Alnus jorullensis, Clethra mexicana, Magnolia schiedeana, Podocarpus guatemalensis and several oaks.

The species can also live as an epiphyte: the authors of the 2022 monograph found adult female plants growing on trees, up to 8 m above the ground.

Conservation status and regulation

Ceratozamia morettii is assessed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, in an assessment by J.D. Bösenberg published in 2022, under criteria A2c; B1ab(iii,v): a population decline linked to habitat loss, and a very small range in which habitat and the number of adults are declining. 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 cites the same category under other criteria (B1ab(i,iv,v)+2ab(i,iv,v)).

In 1998, the authors withheld the exact locality to discourage commercial collecting, which in their view could drive the species to extinction.

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 morettii

No growing advice specific to Ceratozamia morettii has been published, and no grower has reported on it. It is grown at the Francisco Javier Clavijero botanic garden in Xalapa, whose plants were used for the chromosome counts of 1998, and three American gardens hold it.

Its habitat, a cool, very wet cloud forest on free-draining rock faces, points to light shade, a very free-draining, humus-rich mix and regular moisture. These pointers are drawn from the habitat and have not been confirmed by published trials.

Outdoor and in-ground cultivation

No outdoor planting with results has been published. Two of the American gardens that hold it, Lotusland and the Huntington, are in southern California, and Montgomery Botanical Center is in southern Florida, but none says whether its plants are outdoors.

Container cultivation

Its small, branched trunk and few leaves suit a pot well. A shallow, wide container with a mineral, free-draining mix rich in organic matter would mirror the rock ledges where it grows; no grower has documented it.

In cultivation in the UK, US and Australia

BGCI PlantSearch lists four gardens for this species (queried on 30 October 2026): in the United States, Montgomery Botanical Center (Coral Gables, Florida; 3 accessions in its online catalogue), Ganna Walska Lotusland (Montecito, California) and the Huntington (San Marino, California); in Mexico, the Francisco Javier Clavijero botanic garden in Xalapa. No British or Australian garden declares it.

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. Its often branched trunk suggests that offsets could be taken, but no source describes it. Handle seeds wearing gloves.

Pests and diseases

No pest or disease specific to the species has been documented. The usual risks for Ceratozamia in cultivation are rot in cold, sodden soil and scale insects.

Cold hardiness

No cold-hardiness data exist for Ceratozamia morettii. Its cloud forest, with a mean annual temperature of about 17 °C (63 °F) near the type locality, says nothing about how it behaves in frost.

Mediterranean and European experience

No cultivation result has been published in Europe, in the ground or in a pot. The Jardin zoologique tropical in La Londe-les-Maures (Var, on the French Riviera) has published no observation of this species. Until trials exist, keep it frost-free.

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 would be a plant for a heated or cool glasshouse kept frost-free.

Toxicity and precautions

No toxicity study specific to Ceratozamia morettii 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 in flower arrangements that decorate homes during religious festivities; one of its photographs shows them during local celebrations in the municipality of Chiconquiaco. No food or medicinal use is recorded.

Frequently asked questions

Does Ceratozamia morettii grow in Guatemala?

No. It is endemic to central Veracruz, in Mexico, and known only from the Sierra de Chiconquiaco. The World List of Cycads, the WCVP and the 2022 monograph record it nowhere else.

Who was Moretti?

Aldo Moretti, a botanist at the University of Naples Federico II, in Italy, who worked on cycad biology and chromosomes. The authors dedicated the species to him in 1998.

How can I recognise Ceratozamia morettii?

By its small size and broad, oblong leaflets. The plant, often branched, carries few drooping leaves, with leaflets glaucous beneath, and its female cone is almost round.

How does it differ from Ceratozamia delucana?

Mainly by its cones. The ripe female cone of Ceratozamia morettii is covered in blackish hairs, whereas that of Ceratozamia delucana is hairless; the plant is also smaller.

Does it really grow on trees?

Sometimes. The 2022 monograph reports adult plants growing as epiphytes, up to 8 m up their host tree.

Is it endangered?

Yes. The IUCN has assessed it as Endangered since 2022; its range is tiny, and its authors withheld its locality as early as 1998 to protect it.

Can it take frost?

Nobody knows. No trial has been published: keep it frost-free.

Sources

Reference sites

The World List of Cycads (version 2026.08.15), Ceratozamia morettii: https://cycadlist.org/scientific_name/39 — authors, publication, type, range (Veracruz only), 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 morettii: https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/207874457 — accepted name, place of publication, Gulf of Mexico region. Kew data, the basis of POWO, distributed by GBIF; consulted on 30 October 2026.
The Cycad Society, copy of the original description of Ceratozamia morettii: https://www.cycad.org/documents/descriptions/Ceratozamia/Ceratozamia-morettii.pdf — description, chromosomes, habitat, climate, key, local names. Specialist society, faithful copy of the primary source; reread on 30 October 2026.
PubMed Central, monograph of Ceratozamia (PhytoKeys 208): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9849018/ — description, type, range, altitude, habitat, epiphytic plants, common names, uses, status, comparison with Ceratozamia delucana. 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/ — latifolia subclade of the Mexicana clade. Peer-reviewed article, open access.
Species+ (UNEP-WCMC), Ceratozamia morettii: https://speciesplus.net/species#/taxon_concepts/28924/legal — CITES Appendix I since 1 August 1985 (listing of the genus), Annex A in the European Union. Official CITES and EU database; checked on 30 October 2026.
BGCI PlantSearch: https://plantsearch.bgci.org/ — four gardens declaring the species (three in the United States, one in Mexico). Global database of garden lists; queried on 30 October 2026.
Montgomery Botanical Center, living collection: https://www.montgomerybotanical.org/research/living-collection/ — 3 accessions of the species in its BG-BASE catalogue. Specialist cycad garden; catalogue queried on 30 October 2026.

Bibliography

Vázquez-Torres, M. & Vovides, A.P. (1998). A new species of Ceratozamia (Zamiaceae) from Veracruz, Mexico. Novon 8(1): 87–90. [Original description: description, chromosomes, habitat, key to the broad-leafleted species, local names.]
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, common names, uses, status; open access.]
Vovides, A.P., Pérez-Farrera, M.A., Salinas-Rodríguez, M.M., Galicia, S., Díaz-Jiménez, P., Calonje, M. & Gutiérrez-Ortega, J.S. (2022). Morphological and anatomical analyses clarify the species definition of Ceratozamia latifolia Miq. (Zamiaceae) and lead to the description of a new species: Ceratozamia reesii. Phytotaxa 575(3): 224–252. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.575.3.2 [Key to the latifolia complex.]
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 morettii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T42126A69864673. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T42126A69864673.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.]