Ceratozamia guatemalensis is a cycad of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, in the department of Huehuetenango in north-western Guatemala, where it grows in cypress, pine and oak forest between 900 and 1,950 m (about 2,950 to 6,400 ft). Described in 2024, it is the first species of the genus Ceratozamia recognised as endemic to Guatemala. Its young leaves turn from light olive green to reddish brown before greening again, and its female cones hang down when mature. Long confused with Ceratozamia matudae and Ceratozamia vovidesii, it has not yet been assessed by the IUCN, but its describers consider it Critically Endangered.
Key facts about Ceratozamia guatemalensis
- Accepted name: Ceratozamia guatemalensis Pérez-Farr., Gut.Ortega & M.L.Quezada (2024), accepted by The World List of Cycads (version 2026.08.15) and by the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP, the database behind POWO, read via GBIF)
- Former names and synonyms: no synonym; plants formerly referred to Ceratozamia matudae or Ceratozamia vovidesii
- Family: Zamiaceae, order Cycadales
- Common names: none recorded
- Natural range: Guatemala, department of Huehuetenango, Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, 900 to 1,950 m
- IUCN status: Not Evaluated (NE); Critically Endangered (CR) proposed by the authors of the description
- 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, cypress, pine and oak forest, on acid dark brown clay (pH 4.5 to 5.5), on steep slopes
- Habit and adult size: trunk 11 to 50 cm, usually underground; 4 to 11 leaves, 1.6 to 2.1 m long
- In the UK, US and Australia: no garden declares it
- Toxicity: no data specific to the species; treat it as poisonous, like all cycads (see Toxicity and precautions)
How to recognise Ceratozamia guatemalensis
According to its description, published in 2024 in Phytotaxa, it is recognised by its light olive-green young leaves, which turn reddish brown while still immature and become olive green again when mature; by its slightly arching adult leaves; by its thin, channelled leaflets with green articulations on the upper side and conspicuous veins beneath; by its trunk, usually underground; by its upright, light green male cones; and by its female cone, which hangs down when mature. The description gives the following details:
- Trunk: short or medium, cylindrical, 11 to 50 cm tall and 14 to 24 cm in diameter, underground in adults, sometimes partly above ground, upright or rarely lying down with age; persistent cataphylls, brown and densely woolly when they emerge.
- Leaves: 4 to 11 per crown, upright and ascending when young, drooping when older, 161 to 212 cm long and 53 to 73 cm wide; petiole 52 to 131 cm, armed with thin, long prickles; rachis 97 to 147 cm, with sparse prickles. Seedlings bear six first leaves (eophylls).
- Leaflets: 40 to 76 pairs, linear, long, slightly channelled or flat, papery, slightly sickle-shaped at the base and middle of the leaf, with 12 to 18 parallel veins; median leaflets 26.7 to 47 cm by 1.1 to 1.6 cm; articulation green on the upper side, 6 to 10 mm wide.
- Male cones: solitary, conical, upright, light green when mature, 25 to 31 cm by 4 to 4.4 cm, on a reddish, woolly stalk 12 to 14 cm long.
- Female cones: solitary, cylindrical, hanging, green with fine black down when mature, 22 to 25 cm by 6.2 to 6.5 cm, with a short point; light brown stalk 5 to 9 cm long.
- Seeds: egg-shaped, 2 to 2.3 cm long and 1.8 to 1.9 cm across, with cream flesh before ripening and a beige inner shell when mature.
Hybrids
No natural or garden hybrid has been documented.
Possible confusion
The hanging female cone, a rare trait in the genus, long led to confusion with two neighbouring Ceratozamia of Chiapas. According to the abstract of its description:
- Ceratozamia guatemalensis: wider median leaflets, wider leaflet articulations, green female cones;
- Ceratozamia vovidesii, of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas: its sister species, according to a recent phylogenetic study;
- Ceratozamia matudae, of southern Chiapas: belongs to a distant clade; in the key of the 2022 monograph, it is the species with yellow leaflet bases and articulations.
In Guatemala, Ceratozamia robusta also occurs in Huehuetenango according to The World List of Cycads; no comparison between the two species has been published. A plant of Guatemalan origin labelled Ceratozamia matudae in an old collection may belong to this species.
Taxonomy
Ceratozamia guatemalensis is accepted by The World List of Cycads and by the WCVP, which records its publication in Phytotaxa 668, page 71 (2024), and places it in Guatemala. It was described in October 2024 in Phytotaxa (volume 668, pages 63 to 80) by Miguel Angel Pérez-Farrera, Pedro Díaz-Jiménez, Maura L. Quezada, Andrea Marroquín-Tintí, Héctor M. Delgado Montejo, Sandy A. Mendoza-Montejo and José Said Gutiérrez-Ortega; the name is attributed to three of them (Pérez-Farr., Gut.Ortega & M.L.Quezada).
The authors explain that these plants had been wrongly referred to Ceratozamia matudae and Ceratozamia vovidesii because of their hanging female cones. A recent phylogenetic study, cited in the abstract, nevertheless places Ceratozamia guatemalensis next to Ceratozamia vovidesii, while Ceratozamia matudae belongs to a distant clade. The differences in shape and measurements (wider leaflets and articulations, green female cones) justify, in their view, a separate species. It is the first Ceratozamia species recognised as endemic to Guatemala.
Etymology and history
The epithet guatemalensis refers to Guatemala, the country to which the species is endemic (original description, as quoted by The World List of Cycads).
Specimens existed long before the description: the original description cites a collection made in 1906 by O.F. Cook (US herbarium) and another made in 1942 by J.A. Steyermark (F and US herbaria), both in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes. The holotype, a male plant, was collected on 7 February 2020 in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes by M. Quezada and M.A. Pérez-Farrera (collection 5826); it is kept in the Eizi Matuda herbarium (HEM) of the University of Sciences and Arts of Chiapas, with isotypes at USCG and XAL.
Common names
No common name is known: the original description gives none, and no English or Spanish name specific to the species is on record.
In the wild
Ceratozamia guatemalensis is known only from the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, in Huehuetenango. According to the original description, it grows in Cupressus–Pinus–Quercus forest, alongside Mexican cypress (Hesperocyparis lusitanica), Pinus oocarpa, several oaks (Quercus peduncularis, Quercus acutifolia, Quercus polymorpha), Clusia guatemalensis and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua).
The plants grow in dark brown, acid clay (pH 4.5 to 5.5), usually on steep slopes of about 35°, among fragments of metamorphic rock (phyllite, schist) and limestone. The species spans a wide range of altitudes, from 900 to 1,950 m, close to the upper limit of the genus (2,100 m according to the 2022 monograph). No study of its populations or pollination has been published.
Conservation status and regulation
Ceratozamia guatemalensis has not yet been assessed by the IUCN (Not Evaluated according to The World List of Cycads, version 2026.08.15). Its describers consider that it should be listed as Critically Endangered (CR), because of its few populations and the ongoing destruction of its habitat. This preliminary assessment has no official standing.
Like the whole genus, it has been covered by CITES Appendix I since 1 August 1985, 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+ does not yet name this species, described after the CITES standard reference, but the listing covers the whole genus (Ceratozamia spp.) and therefore includes it (checked on 30 October 2026).
This general information does not replace the official texts: check the regulations in force before buying or exchanging plants, ask the seller for proof of origin, and prefer plants raised from cultivated seed.
Growing Ceratozamia guatemalensis
No growing advice specific to Ceratozamia guatemalensis has been published, and no grower has reported on it: described in 2024, the species does not yet appear to be cultivated under this name outside its country. Its habitat gives some pointers: open mid-mountain forest of conifers and oaks, acid clay soil, and steep, therefore well-drained, slopes. That suggests partial shade and an acid, rich and very free-draining substrate; these pointers have not been confirmed by published trials.
Outdoor and in-ground cultivation
No outdoor planting has been documented. Mild subtropical gardens with acid, well-drained soil and light shade would come closest to its habitat; whether it tolerates frost is unknown.
Container cultivation
No container-growing report exists. With its underground trunk and few leaves, it would suit a deep pot of acid, gritty compost under glass, kept frost-free until trials show otherwise.
In cultivation in the UK, US and Australia
No garden in the United Kingdom, the United States or Australia declares Ceratozamia guatemalensis to BGCI PlantSearch, and the name does not appear in the living collection of Montgomery Botanical Center (both checked on 30 October 2026). Plants of Guatemalan origin grown before 2024 may carry the name Ceratozamia matudae or Ceratozamia vovidesii.
Propagation
No data specific to the species. Like all Ceratozamia, it has separate male and female plants; it would be propagated from fresh seed after pollination, handling the seeds with gloves. The original description notes that seedlings bear six first leaves.
Pests and diseases
No pest or disease specific to the species has been documented. The usual risks for cycads in cultivation are rot in cold, wet soil, and scale insects.
Cold hardiness
No cold-tolerance data exist for Ceratozamia guatemalensis. It grows up to 1,950 m, among cypresses, pines and oaks, close to the upper limit of the genus, but no observation says whether it can take frost.
Mediterranean and European experience
No growing result has been published in France or Italy, 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 it. Until trials exist, keep it frost-free.
United Kingdom, United States and Australia
No cold record and no commercial hardiness rating have been published. The altitude of some populations would make it an interesting candidate for trials in mild climates, but nothing has yet been published; in the UK it would need a glasshouse.
Toxicity and precautions
No toxicity data exist for the species or the genus. The risk is documented in other cycads: their seeds and leaves 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. Treat the plant as poisonous, keep seeds and leaves out of reach of children and animals, and if any part is swallowed, call a poison centre, a doctor or a vet straight away.
Traditional uses
No use has been documented.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really endemic to Guatemala?
Yes. It is the first Ceratozamia recognised as endemic to Guatemala; it is known only from the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, in Huehuetenango.
How does it differ from Ceratozamia matudae?
Both have hanging female cones, hence the old confusion. Ceratozamia guatemalensis has wider leaflets, wider leaflet articulations and green female cones, and belongs to another clade; Ceratozamia matudae, from Chiapas, has yellow leaflet bases and articulations.
Why do its young leaves change colour?
It is a feature of the species, noted in its description: they emerge light olive green, turn reddish brown as they grow, then become olive green again when mature.
Is it endangered?
Probably. The IUCN has not assessed it yet, but its describers consider it Critically Endangered, because of its few populations and the destruction of its habitat.
Is it cold-hardy?
Nobody knows. No cold data exist, even though it grows up to nearly 2,000 m; keep it frost-free until trials have been published.
Can it be bought?
Not without documents. It is covered by the listing of the whole genus in CITES Appendix I and Annex A of the EU regulation, seeds included, and no commercial offer has been documented.
Further reading on Succulentes
- How to Grow Cycads from Seed: Germination, Seedling Care and Propagation Setup
- Watering Cycads: Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- Is Sago Palm Toxic to Dogs, Cats & Children? What to Know
Sources
Reference sites
- The World List of Cycads (version 2026.08.15), Ceratozamia guatemalensis: https://cycadlist.org/scientific_name/1069 — authors, publication, type, range, IUCN status (NE), 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 guatemalensis: https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/262420476 — accepted name, Phytotaxa 668: 71 (2024), Guatemala. Kew data, the basis of POWO, distributed by GBIF; consulted on 30 October 2026.
- Plazi, taxonomic treatment of Ceratozamia guatemalensis: https://treatment.plazi.org/id/532C8A4EFFE0FFC5FF6C3821BEB19FE6 — diagnosis, description, habitat, soil, altitude, etymology, specimens. Extract of the original description published by Plazi; reread on 30 October 2026.
- Phytotaxa, Ceratozamia guatemalensis (Zamiaceae): a new cycad species from Mesoamerica (2024): https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.668.1.4 — abstract: comparison with Ceratozamia vovidesii and Ceratozamia matudae, preliminary status. Peer-reviewed article; abstract.
- Species+ (UNEP-WCMC), Ceratozamia: https://speciesplus.net/species#/taxon_concepts/13147/legal — CITES Appendix I for the whole genus since 1 August 1985, Annex A in the European Union. Official CITES and EU database; queried on 30 October 2026.
- BGCI PlantSearch: https://plantsearch.bgci.org/ — no garden declares the species. Global database of garden lists; queried on 30 October 2026.
Bibliography
- Pérez-Farrera, M.A., Díaz-Jiménez, P., Quezada, M.L., Marroquín-Tintí, A., Delgado Montejo, H.M., Mendoza-Montejo, S.A. & Gutiérrez-Ortega, J.S. (2024). Ceratozamia guatemalensis (Zamiaceae): a new cycad species from Mesoamerica. Phytotaxa 668(1): 63–80. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.668.1.4 [Original description; abstract and taxonomic treatment (Plazi). Primary source.]
- 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 [Altitudinal range of the genus, key; open access.]
- 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.]