Ceratozamia mirandae

Ceratozamia mirandae is a cycad of Chiapas, in southern Mexico, where it grows in the oak forests of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas and at the edge of its cloud forests, between 850 and 1,500 m (about 2,790 to 4,920 ft). Described in 2001 and named after the botanist Faustino Miranda, this species of the genus Ceratozamia stands out for its many leaves, brown when they emerge, and its very narrow leaflets. It was first published as Ceratozamia mirandai, a spelling since corrected. The IUCN assesses it as Endangered.

Key facts about Ceratozamia mirandae

  • Accepted name: Ceratozamia mirandae Vovides, Pérez-Farr. & Iglesias (2001), 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: no synonym; original spelling “mirandai”, corrected to mirandae
  • Family: Zamiaceae, order Cycadales
  • Common names: no English name; in Chiapas, “amenduai”, “espadaña de cochi” and “peinetilla” (Spanish)
  • Natural range: Mexico, Chiapas (Sierra Madre de Chiapas: municipalities of Villaflores, Villa Corzo and Jiquipilas), 850 to 1,500 m
  • IUCN status: Endangered (EN B1ab(iii,v); C1), 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, organic-rich karst rocks in oak forest and at the edge of cloud forest according to the 2022 monograph; the original description describes open pine-oak forest on acid, humus-rich soil over granite and metamorphic rocks; no published growing advice
  • Habit and adult size: above-ground trunk 20 to 60 cm long; 2 to 50 leaves (up to 150), 0.46 to 2.4 m long (2022 monograph); a branched trunk 32 to 105 cm long and 6 to 23 leaves 1.15 to 1.9 m long according to the original description (2001)
  • In the UK, US and Australia: declared to BGCI PlantSearch by seven American gardens; none in the UK or Australia (see In cultivation)
  • Toxicity: seeds eaten locally, but no analysis; treat the plant as poisonous (see Toxicity and precautions)

How to recognise Ceratozamia mirandae

Ceratozamia mirandae carries a full crown of leaves that are brown when they emerge, covered in greyish-white hairs, and divided into a great many narrow leaflets (up to 94 pairs, less than a centimetre wide). According to the 2022 monograph, its seeds are almost spherical (the original description called them oval), a feature it would share in the genus almost only with Ceratozamia alvarezii. The monograph describes it as follows:

  • Trunk: above ground, 20 to 60 cm long and 20 to 30 cm in diameter, upright, then leaning; persistent, triangular, reddish-brown, woolly cataphylls.
  • Leaves: 2 to 50 (up to 150), upright, 46 to 242 cm long; brown with greyish-white hairs when they emerge, then hairless. The petiole, 16 to 98 cm long and brown, carries 11 to 46 thin prickles 3 to 4 mm long; the brown to greenish-brown axis is prickly on its lower two-thirds.
  • Leaflets: 28 to 94 pairs, linear to lance-shaped, papery, slightly rolled upwards, green and hairless; the middle ones measure 10 to 40 cm by 0.4 to 0.9 cm and are spaced 0.2 to 1.6 cm apart. Their points of attachment are brown.
  • Male cones: single, cylindrical, upright, 16 to 55 cm long and 4 to 7.7 cm across, yellowish green with brown hairs, then creamy yellow with blackish hairs; stalk 5 to 11 cm long.
  • Female cones: single, cylindrical, upright, 13.5 to 35 cm long and 7 to 12.6 cm across, bluish green with reddish-brown to blackish hairs when ripe, with a drawn-out tip; upright stalk 4.5 to 12 cm long. The 42 to 72 scales carry two straight horns.
  • Seeds: spherical, 1.9 to 2.9 cm long, with pinkish-white flesh before ripening, light brown when ripe.

The original description (Vovides, Pérez-Farrera and Iglesias, 2001), based on thirty measured plants, describes a more massive plant: a trunk subglobose and brown in young plants, then cylindrical, upright to leaning and branched, 32 to 105 cm long and 19 to 28 cm across; 6 to 23 ascending to spreading leaves, 115 to 189 cm long; petiole and axis straight, with short, stout prickles that become sparser towards the tip; 49 to 82 pairs of leathery, linear to slightly sickle-shaped leaflets, slightly channelled, glossy dark green above, 26.5 to 45 cm by 0.8 to 1.2 cm; a male cone 26.5 to 57 cm long, light green to olive green, then creamy yellow; a barrel-shaped female cone 26 to 48 cm long, olive green turning ochre brown; oval seeds 2.3 to 2.7 cm long; and 2n = 16 chromosomes. The differences from the monograph concern mainly the trunk (branched and longer), the leaflet texture (leathery rather than papery), the size of the female cone and the shape of the seeds.

Hybrids

No natural or garden hybrid has been documented.

Possible confusion

According to the 2022 monograph, three species of Chiapas and neighbouring Oaxaca resemble it in their narrow-leafleted foliage:

  • Ceratozamia alvarezii, of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas: the closest; a smaller plant overall, with shorter leaves and female cones when whole populations are compared;
  • Ceratozamia chimalapensis, of the Chimalapas region (Oaxaca): described as similar to Ceratozamia mirandae;
  • Ceratozamia vovidesii, of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas: shares several vegetative features with it; the description of Ceratozamia leptoceras (2020) notes that the two are morphologically very close but can be told apart by DNA.

The difference from Ceratozamia alvarezii rests mainly on size, measured across populations: a single plant without cones or known origin cannot be identified with certainty. The authors of the original description compared it instead with Ceratozamia kuesteriana of Tamaulipas, which shares its channelled leaflets, upright petiole and straight axis; Ceratozamia mirandae differs in its trunk, arborescent, branched and thicker, and in its male cone, creamy yellow rather than dark brown when ripe, and the key adds that Ceratozamia kuesteriana has an unarmed petiole and axis.

Taxonomy

Ceratozamia mirandae 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 south-eastern Mexico. It was described in 2001 by Andrew Vovides, Miguel Ángel Pérez-Farrera and Carlos Iglesias in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society (137(1): 81–85), in an article entitled “Another new species of Ceratozamia (Zamiaceae) from Chiapas, Mexico”. The name was published as “mirandai”; The World List of Cycads uses the corrected spelling mirandae.

The authors first thought that this plant, collected in the La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve, belonged to Ceratozamia norstogii in a broad sense; examining the type and populations of that species convinced them it was distinct. They placed it in the second species group of Stevenson and colleagues (1986), the narrow-leafleted species. In the 2023 phylogeny of the genus by Habib and colleagues, it belongs to the norstogii subclade of the Miqueliana clade, together with Ceratozamia alvarezii, Ceratozamia norstogii, Ceratozamia chimalapensis and Ceratozamia vovidesii; that study describes it as a plant of high-altitude open oak forest, with narrow leaflets and spreading leaves.

The type is a female plant collected on 20 September 1997 by J. De La Cruz Rodríguez (no. 66) in the municipality of Villaflores, at about 880 m. The original description, which deliberately withholds the exact locality, placed the holotype in the CHIP herbarium (Tuxtla Gutiérrez). Unable to find it, the authors of the 2022 monograph designated as lectotype a duplicate held at the National Herbarium of Mexico (MEXU). In 2023, Jody Haynes showed, with photographs, that the holotype does exist at CHIP; according to The World List of Cycads, the 2022 designation is therefore superseded.

Etymology and history

The epithet honours Faustino Miranda (1905–1964), a botanist who devoted much of his work to the flora of Chiapas (The World List of Cycads, after Haynes 2022; 2022 monograph).

The species had been collected before it was described: the monograph cites a specimen from 1972 in Villa Corzo and several collections from 1993 to 1996 in Villaflores and Jiquipilas, and the original description also mentions undated specimens collected by Chamberlain (F) and Breedlove (CAS). No source documents its introduction into cultivation.

Common names

No English name is recorded. From herbarium labels, the 2022 monograph records three local names in Chiapas: “amenduai”, “espadaña de cochi” and “peinetilla” (literally “little comb”); no source explains their origin.

In the wild

According to the 2022 monograph, Ceratozamia mirandae is widespread in Chiapas, from the Tres Picos hill and the Sierra Morena to a mountain range in the municipality of Jiquipilas. It grows on karst rocks with abundant organic matter, in oak forest and in the transition between pine-oak forest and cloud forest, between 850 and 1,500 m. The specimens examined come from the municipalities of Villaflores, Villa Corzo and Jiquipilas.

The original description describes another setting. The site studied, in the La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve, is a fairly open pine-oak forest at 950 m on a 40% slope, dominated by Quercus elliptica and Pinus oocarpa, rich in epiphytes such as Tillandsia, including Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides). The soil is an acid, humus-rich cambisol of sandy clay texture, over Precambrian granites and folded metamorphic rocks; the original description does not mention limestone, whereas the 2022 monograph speaks of karst rocks. Other populations grow in semi-deciduous tropical forest, deciduous tropical forest and cloud forest, all between 910 and 1,300 m, on both slopes of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas.

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

Conservation status and regulation

Ceratozamia mirandae is assessed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, in an assessment by J.D. Bösenberg published in 2022, under criteria B1ab(iii,v); C1: a small range where habitat quality and the number of adults are declining, and a small, declining population. 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. As early as 2001, the authors of the description considered it threatened: the pine-oak forests where it grows were shrinking under slash-and-burn agriculture, less inside the reserve than outside, and fires during the exceptional drought of 1998 had reached its populations, including inside La Sepultura.

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 mirandae

No growing advice specific to Ceratozamia mirandae has been published. The only documented follow-up comes from the Italian forum Tropicamente: a grower in Ravenna (Emilia-Romagna, Italy) described the species in December 2010 as unobtainable and subject to CITES certificates, then reported in June 2012 that his young plant, with two leaves, had produced a new leaf after a winter spent indoors, kept there “given its origin in Chiapas”. In June 2013 it had not yet started growing again that season.

Its habitat, organic-rich rocks in mid-mountain oak forest, points to partial shade and a very free-draining mix rich in organic matter. 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. Several American gardens that grow it are in frost-free or mild areas (southern Florida, coastal California, Hawaii), but none publishes whether its plants are outdoors.

Container cultivation

The only documented European plant is grown in a pot and overwintered indoors. A deep pot and a mineral, free-draining mix suit its taproot; keep it barely moist in winter.

In cultivation in the UK, US and Australia

BGCI PlantSearch lists nine gardens under this name, in two records (queried on 30 October 2026). In the United States, these are Montgomery Botanical Center (Coral Gables, Florida; 3 accessions in its online catalogue), the Huntington, San Diego Botanic Garden, the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley, the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Brookgreen Gardens (South Carolina) and the University of Hawaii at Hilo botanical garden; Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden also lists it in its online catalogue. No British or Australian garden declares it. In Mexico, it is held by the Faustino Miranda botanic garden in Chiapas and the Francisco Javier Clavijero botanic garden in Xalapa.

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. The usual risks for Ceratozamia in cultivation are rot in cold, sodden soil and scale insects.

Cold hardiness

No measured cold-hardiness value exists for Ceratozamia mirandae. Its habitat, between 850 and 1,500 m in the mountains of Chiapas, does not tell how it behaves in frost.

Mediterranean and European experience

No cultivation result has been published in Europe in the ground. The only European grower who mentions it, in Ravenna, kept his young plant indoors in winter without exposing it to frost. 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 is a plant for a heated glasshouse.

Toxicity and precautions

No toxicity study specific to Ceratozamia mirandae 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. According to the 2022 monograph, the ripe seeds of this species are nevertheless eaten in Chiapas, after a herbarium label; no source describes how they are prepared, and this use does not prove they are safe. 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 reports that the ripe seeds are used as food in Chiapas, after a collection by U. Bachem and R. Rojas. It gives neither the preparation nor the importance of this use, which is mentioned for its ethnobotanical interest and is in no way advice.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Ceratozamia mirandae grow?

In Chiapas, southern Mexico. It lives in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, in oak and pine-oak forest and at the edge of cloud forest, between 850 and 1,500 m.

Who was Miranda?

Faustino Miranda (1905–1964), a botanist who studied the flora of Chiapas extensively. The epithet honours him.

How does it differ from Ceratozamia alvarezii?

Mainly in size. Ceratozamia mirandae has larger leaves and female cones when populations are compared; a single plant without cones is hard to assign to one or the other.

Why is it sometimes spelt “mirandai”?

That is the spelling of the original 2001 publication. The World List of Cycads uses the corrected form mirandae.

Is it endangered?

Yes. The IUCN has assessed it as Endangered since 2022, and the whole genus is in CITES Appendix I.

Can it take frost?

Nobody knows. No dated trial exists, and the only known European grower kept it indoors in winter.

Are its seeds edible?

Do not eat them. A local food use is reported in Chiapas, but cycads contain serious toxins; treat the plant as poisonous.

Further reading on Succulentes

Sources

Reference sites

Bibliography

  • Vovides, A.P., Pérez-Farrera, M.A. & Iglesias, C. (2001). Another new species of Ceratozamia (Zamiaceae) from Chiapas, Mexico. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 137(1): 81–85. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2001.tb01108.x [Original description: diagnosis, measured description, type, habitat, key against Ceratozamia kuesteriana and Ceratozamia norstogii, threats.]
  • 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.]
  • Haynes, J.L. (2023). Critical review of “Monograph of Ceratozamia (Zamiaceae, Cycadales): an endangered genus” published in PhytoKeys 208: 1–102 (2022). Phytotaxa 612(2): 159–200. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.612.2.4 [Rediscovery of the holotype; abstract, cited by The World List of Cycads.]
  • 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 mirandae. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T178863A69867792. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T178863A69867792.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.]