Ceratozamia matudae: Identification, Habitat and Status

Ceratozamia matudae is a cycad of southern Chiapas, Mexico, where it grows on limestone rocks in the evergreen tropical forests of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, between 1,000 and 1,500 m (about 3,280 to 4,920 ft). Described in 1939, it is one of the most distinctive species of the genus Ceratozamia: its leaf axis and the bases of its leaflets are yellow, and its almost round female cones hang at the end of a long stalk. It gives its name to the Matudae clade, the earliest branch of the genus in the phylogeny published in 2023. Assessed as Endangered by the IUCN, it is very rare in cultivation.

Key facts about Ceratozamia matudae

Accepted name: Ceratozamia matudae Lundell (1939), accepted by The World List of Cycads (version 2026.08.15), by Species+ and by the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP, the database behind POWO, read via GBIF)
Former names and synonyms: no synonym; first published as Ceratozamia Matudai; plants from Guatemala once referred to this species were described in 2024 as Ceratozamia guatemalensis
Family: Zamiaceae, order Cycadales
Common names: none recorded, in English or in Mexico
Natural range: Mexico, southern Chiapas (Sierra Madre de Chiapas: municipalities of Acacoyagua, Escuintla and Siltepec), 1,000 to 1,500 m
IUCN status: Endangered (EN B1ab(ii,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, karst rocks in mountain evergreen tropical forest; no published growing advice
Habit and adult size: above-ground trunk 30 to 50 cm long; 3 to 14 drooping leaves, 0.8 to 1.55 m long (2022 monograph)
In the UK, US and Australia: the Huntington and the New York Botanical Garden declare it to BGCI PlantSearch (see In cultivation)
Toxicity: no data for the species; treat it as poisonous, like all cycads (see Toxicity and precautions)

How to recognise Ceratozamia matudae

According to the 2022 monograph of the genus, Ceratozamia matudae differs from every other Ceratozamia in its yellow leaf axis and petiole, the yellow bases and points of attachment of its leaflets, and its rounded female cones with a drawn-out tip, carried on a hanging stalk as long as the cone or longer. The monograph describes it as follows:

Trunk: above ground, 30 to 50 cm long and 20 to 30 cm in diameter, upright, then leaning; persistent, triangular, reddish-brown cataphylls, woolly.
Leaves: 3 to 14, drooping, 80 to 155 cm long; green with brown hairs when they emerge, then hairless. Petiole 30 to 79 cm long, unarmed or with 18 to 36 thin prickles; the axis turns yellow to yellowish green on mature leaves.
Leaflets: 23 to 53 pairs, lance-shaped, papery, green with a yellow base; the middle ones measure 23 to 40 cm by only 0.6 to 1.3 cm. Their points of attachment are yellow.
Male cones: single, cylindrical, upright, 9.5 to 16 cm long and 3.5 to 5 cm across, yellowish green, then creamy yellow with reddish-brown hairs, on a stalk 8 to 14 cm long.
Female cones: single, globe-shaped, 8 to 15 cm long and 5 to 8 cm across, yellowish green, then dark green with blackish hairs, with a drawn-out tip; they hang on a stalk 11 to 17 cm long. The 16 to 25 scales carry two long, recurved horns 6 to 15 mm long.
Seeds: rounded and large, 2.9 to 4 cm long, with a whitish-yellow to yellow fleshy coat before ripening, light brown when ripe.

The original description by Cyrus Lundell (1939) gives a trunk 30 to 50 cm tall and 15 to 20 cm across; leaves 75 to 122 cm long; a petiole with a densely and persistently woolly, swollen base and a few short, stout prickles; 23 to 44 pairs of linear-lanceolate, leathery leaflets, 20 to 38 cm by 6.5 to 15 mm, glossy yellowish green above; a male cone 8 to 16 cm long on a stalk 8 to 11 cm long; and a ripe, ellipsoid female cone about 15 cm by 9 cm on a stout stalk up to 22 cm, longer than the cone, with widely spreading horns; the seeds are about 3 cm long. It differs from the monograph mainly in calling the leaflets leathery rather than papery and the petiole always somewhat prickly.

Hybrids

No hybrid, natural or garden-made, has been documented.

Possible confusion

Hanging female cones are rare in the genus, and this feature long kept three geographically close species mixed up. According to the description of Ceratozamia guatemalensis published in Phytotaxa in 2024:

Ceratozamia matudae, of southern Chiapas: yellow leaf axis, yellow leaflet bases and articulations, rounded female cones;
Ceratozamia vovidesii, of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas;
Ceratozamia guatemalensis, of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes (Guatemala): wider middle leaflets, wider articulations and green female cones.

The same study points out that a recent phylogeny places Ceratozamia guatemalensis next to Ceratozamia vovidesii, whereas Ceratozamia matudae belongs to a distant clade: the similar cones do not reflect close kinship. The 2023 phylogeny adds that Ceratozamia matudae shares some leaf and cone features with the species of the Ceratozamia norstogii group, such as Ceratozamia mirandae, but is not closely related to them.

Taxonomy

Ceratozamia matudae is accepted by The World List of Cycads, by Species+ and by the WCVP, the database behind POWO (read via GBIF on 30 October 2026), which places it in south-eastern Mexico. It has no synonyms. The American botanist Cyrus Lundell described it in 1939 in the journal Lloydia (volume 2, pages 75–76), under the spelling Ceratozamia Matudai, in an article on plants from Mexico and Central America; he presented it as the striking new cycad among Matuda’s collections. He separated it from Ceratozamia mexicana and Ceratozamia kuesteriana by its much longer cone stalks and larger male cone scales, and judged it close to Ceratozamia kuesteriana by the veining of its leaflets, from which it also differs by its prickly petiole and axis.

In the phylogeny of the genus based on 3,954 nuclear genes from 30 species, published in 2023 by Habib and colleagues in Plants, Ceratozamia falls into three major clades, named Matudae, Miqueliana and Mexicana. The Matudae clade contains only two species, Ceratozamia matudae and Ceratozamia mixeorum, and is sister to all the other species of the genus. An earlier phylogeny based on six DNA regions had instead placed these two species in two different clades. For the reader, this means that Ceratozamia matudae, despite its resemblance to some species of Chiapas, is one of the most isolated members of the genus.

Etymology and history

The epithet honours Eizi Matuda (1894–1978), a Japanese-born botanist who settled in Mexico, explored the flora of Chiapas and discovered this species in the south of the state (The World List of Cycads, after Haynes 2022; 2022 monograph).

The holotype is a male plant collected by Matuda in February 1939 on the northern slope of Mount Ovando, in Chiapas, at about 1,000 m (collection Matuda 2645). It is kept at the University of Michigan herbarium (MICH); the 2022 monograph lists isotypes at CAS, MEXU and US. According to the original description, Matuda had already collected the plant on Mount Ovando in December 1937 and went back several times to gather complete material, including a ripe female cone in February 1939; the type is described as coming from broadleaved forest. Lundell named the species after him for this work. Matuda collected it again in 1940 in the municipality of Siltepec.

Common names

No common name is recorded. The 2022 monograph lists none, and no English name specific to the species is attested.

In the wild

Ceratozamia matudae is endemic to Chiapas. According to the 2022 monograph, it grows on karst rocks in evergreen tropical forest between 1,000 and 1,500 m in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas; the specimens examined come from the municipalities of Acacoyagua, Escuintla and Siltepec. The original description does not mention limestone: it only places the type in broadleaved forest on the northern slope of Mount Ovando, at 1,000 m.

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

Conservation status and regulation

Ceratozamia matudae is assessed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, under criterion B1ab(ii,iii,v), in an assessment by J.D. Bösenberg published in 2022: its range is small, and the area occupied, the quality of its 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 with the additional criterion C1, which concerns a small, declining population.

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 or exchanging plants, ask the seller for proof of origin, and prefer plants raised from cultivated seed.

Growing Ceratozamia matudae

No growing advice specific to Ceratozamia matudae has been published, and no grower’s report is documented. The species remains a collector’s rarity.

Its habitat, limestone rocks in humid mountain tropical forest, points to partial shade, a very free-draining mix and steady moisture. These pointers are drawn from its natural habitat and have not been confirmed by published trials.

Outdoor and in-ground cultivation

No outdoor planting with results has been documented. Its habitat, frost-free tropical mountain forest, suggests it is suited outdoors only to frost-free, humid climates.

Container cultivation

No container trial has been published. Its moderate size, with a short trunk and leaves up to about 1.5 m, would allow it to be grown in a large pot under glass.

In cultivation in the UK, US and Australia

BGCI PlantSearch lists five gardens worldwide (queried on 30 October 2026). In the United States, these are the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens (San Marino, California) and the New York Botanical Garden; no British or Australian garden declares it. The others are the Francisco Javier Clavijero botanic garden in Xalapa (Mexico) and gardens in China and Peru. Montgomery Botanical Center (Coral Gables, Florida) lists no accession in its online catalogue. Whether the plants are grown outdoors or under glass is not stated.

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 seeds are large for the genus, up to 4 cm. Handle them wearing gloves.

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, waterlogged soil and scale insects.

Cold hardiness

No cold-hardiness data exist for Ceratozamia matudae. It lives in mountain tropical forest in southern Chiapas, between 1,000 and 1,500 m, and no observation says whether it can take frost.

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. Until trials exist, keep it frost-free.

United Kingdom, United States and Australia

No cold record and no commercial hardiness rating have been published. In the UK it would be a plant for a heated glasshouse.

Toxicity and precautions

No toxicity study specific to Ceratozamia matudae 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

The 2022 monograph records no use for this species.

Frequently asked questions

How do I recognise Ceratozamia matudae?

By the yellow colour of the leaf axis and of the leaflet bases, a feature unique in the genus. Its almost round female cones hang at the end of a long stalk.

Who was Matuda?

Eizi Matuda (1894–1978), a Japanese-born botanist who settled in Mexico and became a great explorer of the flora of Chiapas. He collected the type plant on Mount Ovando in 1939.

How does it differ from Ceratozamia guatemalensis?

They are two distinct species, long confused because both have hanging female cones. Ceratozamia guatemalensis, from Guatemala, has wider leaflets and belongs to another clade of the genus.

Is it endangered?

Yes. It is assessed as Endangered by the IUCN (2022), with a small range in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas.

Is it cold-hardy?

Nobody knows. No cold data exist; it is a tropical mountain forest species, to be kept frost-free until trials are published.

Can I buy one freely?

No, not without paperwork. Like the whole genus, it is in CITES Appendix I and in Annex A of the EU regulation, seeds included.

Is it toxic?

Assume so. No analysis exists for the species, but the cycads studied contain toxins that are serious for the liver and nervous system, especially in their seeds.

Sources

Reference sites

The World List of Cycads (version 2026.08.15), Ceratozamia matudae: https://cycadlist.org/scientific_name/32 — authors, publication, type, 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 matudae: https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/207874497 — accepted name, place of publication, 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, type, range, altitude, habitat, status, diagnostic features. 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/ — Matudae clade (Ceratozamia matudae and Ceratozamia mixeorum), sister to the rest of the genus. Peer-reviewed article, open access; read on 30 October 2026.
Phytotaxa, Ceratozamia guatemalensis (Zamiaceae): a new cycad species from Mesoamerica (2024): https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.668.1.4 — historical confusion with Ceratozamia guatemalensis and Ceratozamia vovidesii. Peer-reviewed article; abstract.
Species+ (UNEP-WCMC), Ceratozamia matudae: https://speciesplus.net/species#/taxon_concepts/22795/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/ — five 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/ — no accession of the species in its BG-BASE catalogue. Specialist cycad garden; catalogue queried on 30 October 2026.

Bibliography

Lundell, C.L. (1939). [Description of Ceratozamia matudae, as Ceratozamia Matudai, in an article on plants from Mexico and Central America.] Lloydia 2(2): 75–76. [Original description: Latin diagnosis, description, type, specimens, comparison; copy held by The Cycad Society.]
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, status; open access.]
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.]
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 [Comparison with Ceratozamia matudae; abstract.]
Bösenberg, J.D. (2022). Ceratozamia matudae. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T42125A69864867. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T42125A69864867.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.]