Macrozamia longispina

Macrozamia longispina is a cycad from south-eastern Queensland, in eastern Australia, almost confined to the hills around Widgee and Glastonbury, west of Gympie, where it forms extensive colonies in eucalypt forest on soils derived from serpentinite. A species of the genus Macrozamia described in 1998, it is named after the very long spines at the tips of its cone scales. Abundant where it grows but with a very small range, it is listed as Near Threatened; several populations have been destroyed by landowners because it poisons livestock.

Key facts about Macrozamia longispina

  • Accepted name: Macrozamia longispina P.I.Forst. & D.L.Jones (1998), accepted by The World List of Cycads (version 2026.08.15) and the Australian Plant Census
  • Former names and synonyms: none
  • Family: Zamiaceae, order Cycadales; Macrozamia miquelii group, section Macrozamia
  • Common names: no specific name attested in English or in any other language
  • Natural range: south-eastern Queensland, Australia: Widgee and Glastonbury area west of Gympie, with an outlying population further north (St Mary State Forest); 420 to 680 m above sea level
  • IUCN status: Near Threatened (NT B1a+2a), assessment by J.D. Bösenberg dated 14 August 2020 and published in 2022
  • CITES and other protection: CITES Appendix II (annotation #4); Annex B in the European Union; Near Threatened under Queensland law; not listed under the federal EPBC Act
  • Documented hardiness: no cultivation data; −4.3 °C (24.3 °F) is the record low at Gympie, below its range (see Cold hardiness)
  • Light and soil: in the wild, moist eucalypt forest on skeletal soils derived from serpentinite, more rarely on deep sand
  • Habit and adult size: stem underground or short, up to 30 cm tall and 20 to 30 cm across; 6 to 20 leaves 1 to 1.5 m long
  • In the UK, US and Australia: Ganna Walska Lotusland, The Huntington and San Diego Botanic Garden in California; Montgomery Botanical Center in Florida; Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens in Queensland; no British garden
  • Toxicity: toxic to livestock, to the point that landowners have cleared populations; seeds toxic throughout the genus (see Toxicity and precautions)

How to recognise Macrozamia longispina

Macrozamia longispina is recognised by its straight, dark green, glossy leaves with a long petiole, its narrow leaflets, none of which is reduced to a spine, and above all by the exceptionally long spines on its cones. Jones, Forster and Sharma (2001) and the Flora of Australia give the following description.

  • Stem: underground or, less often, an erect trunk emerging up to 30 cm tall and 30 cm across, unbranched.
  • Leaves: 6 to 20 in the crown, 1 to 1.5 m long, dark green and glossy (young leaves light green), flat in cross-section, arching; expanded base covered with soft, grey-brown woolly hairs; petiole 40 to 50 cm long, unarmed; axis straight, not twisted.
  • Leaflets: narrow, 25 to 32 cm long and 3 to 6 mm wide, thin, dark green and glossy above, paler beneath, with a white callus at the base and a sharp tip; the lower leaflets are smaller but not spine-like.
  • Male cones: 1 to 5, cylindrical to spindle-shaped, 8 to 15 cm long and 2.5 to 4 cm across, green; the scales at the top carry an erect spine 15 to 20 mm long.
  • Female cones: 1 to 3, narrowly ovoid, 13 to 19 cm long and 6 to 8 cm across, green, on a stalk 20 to 26 cm long; the scales end in a spine 2.5 to 7 cm long, the longest at the top.
  • Seeds: oblong to obovoid, 2 to 2.5 cm long and 1.5 to 2 cm wide, with orange to red flesh.

The number of leaflets differs between sources: 100 to 140 per leaf in the description by Jones et al. (2001), as in WildNet, the Queensland Government’s wildlife database, but 52 to 58 (48 to 66) in the Flora of Australia, a figure that Jones et al. themselves use when comparing it with Macrozamia mountperriensis. Neither source says whether one of the counts covers a single side of the leaf. The Flora of Australia also gives slightly smaller female cones (13 to 14 cm) and seeds (20 to 23 mm).

Hybrids

No hybrid has been described, but WildNet records intermediate plants listed as “Macrozamia longispina – Macrozamia macleayi”. No description of these plants has been published.

Possible confusion

Macrozamia longispina belongs to the group of Macrozamia miquelii, whose species look much alike. According to Jones et al. (2001), it differs from Macrozamia macleayi, Macrozamia miquelii and Macrozamia mountperriensis by its leaves with fewer, narrower leaflets, and by the markedly longer spines on the scales at the top of both male and female cones. Its closest relative is Macrozamia mountperriensis, whose median leaflets are broader (6.5 to 9 mm against 4.5 to 6 mm) and whose male cones carry much shorter spines (3 to 13 mm against 15 to 20 mm). Macrozamia macleayi and Macrozamia miquelii also have many lower leaflets reduced to stiff spines, which Macrozamia longispina lacks.

Taxonomy

Macrozamia longispina P.I.Forst. & D.L.Jones is accepted by The World List of Cycads and the Australian Plant Census. Paul I. Forster and David L. Jones described it in 1998 in volume 48 of the Flora of Australia (p. 717). The type was collected on 25 October 1992 by P.I. Forster and P. Machin (no. PIF12137B) in State Forest 639, Wrattens; the holotype is held at the Queensland Herbarium in Brisbane (BRI).

Jones, Forster and Sharma (2001) redescribed it in their revision of the Macrozamia miquelii group, placed in section Macrozamia. An allozyme analysis in that paper supports its close relationship with Macrozamia mountperriensis: the outlying population of State Forest 57 (St Mary), which grows on sand, clusters with the serpentinite populations of the same species rather than with the geographically nearby populations of Macrozamia mountperriensis. The species has no synonym. The title of an article by Forster and Osborne published the same year, in the South African journal Encephalartos, nevertheless refers it to section Parazamia; the revision places it in section Macrozamia.

Etymology and history

The epithet comes from the Latin longi, “longer”, and spina, “spine”, alluding to the long spines at the tips of the upper scales of the male cones (Jones et al., 2001; Haynes, 2022). The genus name Macrozamia combines the Greek makros, “large”, with the genus name Zamia. The earliest collections cited date from December 1964 and April 1965, at Myravale, in the same district; yet the species was recognised and described only in 1998.

Common names

No specific common name is attested in English, and no Aboriginal name is recorded; WildNet gives none. Gardeners and nurseries use the scientific name.

In the wild

Macrozamia longispina lives in south-eastern Queensland, mainly around Glastonbury and Widgee, west of Gympie, with an outlying population further north in State Forest 57 (St Mary); WildNet also mentions collections from Mount Woorcoo, near Tiaro. It grows at 420 to 680 m, on slopes and ridges, in tall, moist eucalypt forest with a grassy understorey, on shallow, stony soils derived from serpentinite, or more rarely on deep sand. The common canopy trees are Eucalyptus biturbinata, Eucalyptus acmenoides, Eucalyptus tereticornis and Corymbia intermedia (Jones et al., 2001; Flora of Australia). The Flora of Australia notes that the plants form extensive colonies.

Pollen is shed in October and November, when the cones are visited by a specialised thrips, Cycadothrips chadwicki (Forster et al., 1994, cited by Jones et al., 2001). Ripe seeds are dispersed in March and April. Thanks to their underground stem, adults resprout after a fire has burnt their leaves, but seedlings and seeds left on the surface are usually killed (Queensland Herbarium, 2007, cited by the Flora of Australia).

Conservation status and regulation

Macrozamia longispina is listed as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List, with the criteria B1a+2a, which mainly reflect a very small range split into few localities. The assessment, by J.D. Bösenberg, is dated 14 August 2020 and was published in 2022 (The World List of Cycads, GBIF and Crossref, checked on 26 October 2026).

Jones et al. (2001) noted that, although its range is small, the species is extremely abundant where it occurs, with large numbers in Wrattens State Forest and at one locality in St Mary State Forest; on the other hand, the populations near Glastonbury appeared to have been largely eradicated by local landowners because of their toxicity to stock. In Queensland it is now listed as Near Threatened under the Nature Conservation (Plants) Regulation 2020; WildNet also records it as a restricted plant and a sensitive species. It was listed as Rare under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act in 2001, according to Jones et al. It is not listed under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC).

Like other Macrozamia, it has been listed in CITES Appendix II since 4 February 1977, with annotation #4: seeds and pollen are exempt, but plants are not. In the European Union it falls under Annex B of Regulation (EC) No 338/97, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1383, applicable since 29 June 2026 (Species+, checked on 26 October 2026). Check the regulations in force before any purchase or import, and buy only seed-raised plants with their papers.

Growing Macrozamia longispina

No cultivation experience with Macrozamia longispina has been published. Its habitat, serpentinite slopes under moist eucalypt forest, suggests a plant that likes a very free-draining soil and filtered light, in a subtropical climate with summer rain (about 1,100 mm a year at Gympie). These are assumptions drawn from the wild, not tested advice.

Outdoor and in-ground cultivation

  • Light: in the wild, under tall eucalypt forest with a grassy understorey; filtered light to part sun is a deduction from the habitat.
  • Soil: in the wild, shallow stony soils on slopes, mostly serpentinite, sometimes deep sand; very good drainage is the logical requirement.
  • Water: no published data; the region receives most of its rain in summer.
  • Space: a crown of up to 20 arching leaves 1 to 1.5 m long needs room.

Container cultivation

No container culture has been described. Its long leaves make it a large plant for a pot; a deep container of free-draining compost would suit its underground stem, which loses the protection of the soil in winter (see Cold hardiness).

In cultivation in the UK, US and Australia

  • United States: Ganna Walska Lotusland (Santa Barbara), The Huntington (San Marino) and San Diego Botanic Garden (Encinitas), in California, and Montgomery Botanical Center in Florida (accession 974) declare it to BGCI.
  • Australia: Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens, in Queensland, declares it to BGCI; it is not listed in the Garden Explorer of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.
  • United Kingdom: no British garden declares it to BGCI (checked on 26 October 2026).

No grower in the English-speaking world has published a cultivation result.

Propagation

Macrozamia longispina is propagated by seed. A male and a female plant are needed, and hand pollination outside Australia, in the absence of its pollinating thrips. Wear gloves to clean the seeds, whose flesh is toxic. Buy seed or plants only from a legal, documented source.

Pests and diseases

No pest or disease specific to Macrozamia longispina is documented. For Macrozamia grown in Europe, growers’ forums mainly mention scale insects and rot in cold, wet soil (see the genus page).

Cold hardiness

The cold hardiness of Macrozamia longispina has not been tested in cultivation: no result has been published.

Mediterranean and European experience

No result has been published in Europe, in the ground or in a pot. In March 2014, on the French Fous de palmiers forum, a grower reported the opinion of an Australian specialist who placed Macrozamia longispina among the “least hardy” species, those of inland Queensland, the third of four groups. No temperature was given.

United Kingdom, United States and Australia

At the Gympie weather station (65 m), about 30 to 60 km from the known localities, the lowest temperature recorded since 1965 is −4.3 °C (24.3 °F), on 20 July 2007; frost occurs on fewer than three days a year on average, and the mean July minimum is 6.4 °C (43.5 °F) (Bureau of Meteorology). The populations, at 420 to 680 m, have a different climate, which has not been measured. These figures describe the region, not the tolerance of the plant. In Britain and in the colder parts of the United States, a pot kept frost-free in winter is the prudent choice.

Toxicity and precautions

Macrozamia longispina is toxic to livestock: that is why landowners near Glastonbury have eliminated much of its population (Jones et al., 2001). The toxins have not been studied in this species, but they are documented for the genus. Macrozamia contain toxic glycosides (cycasin, macrozamin), from which methylazoxymethanol is derived, a poison of the liver; cattle that eat the leaves can develop a locomotor disorder of the hind legs (Healy, 1967), which McKenzie (2006) describes as irreversible, ending in paralysis of the hindquarters, with no treatment.

Treat the plant as toxic: wear gloves to handle the seeds and keep seeds and leaves out of reach of children and animals. In case of ingestion, contact a poison centre, a doctor or a vet without delay.

Traditional uses

No traditional use specific to Macrozamia longispina is recorded. Other Macrozamia provided Aboriginal peoples with seeds that could be eaten after long processing (see the genus page); never eat cycad seeds.

Frequently asked questions

What does longispina mean?

“Long spines”. The name refers to the erect spines at the tips of the upper cone scales: 15 to 20 mm on the male cones, up to 7 cm on the female cones.

How can it be told from Macrozamia mountperriensis?

By its fewer, narrower leaflets and the much longer spines on its cones. The two species are very close, as an allozyme study has confirmed.

Is it poisonous to animals?

Yes. Jones et al. (2001) report that landowners eliminated whole populations because the plant poisoned their livestock. Keep seeds and leaves out of reach of animals.

How hardy is it?

Nobody knows. No trial has been published; its region has rare, light frosts, and an Australian specialist ranks it among the less hardy species.

Is it endangered?

It is Near Threatened. The IUCN lists it as NT (2022) because of its very small range, but it remains abundant in Wrattens and St Mary state forests.

Why does it grow on serpentinite?

Nobody knows for certain. Most populations occupy these poor, stony soils, but one population grows on deep sand, which shows that the species does not strictly depend on them.

Further reading on Succulentes

Sources

Reference sites

Bibliography

  • Hill, K.D., Jones, D.L. & Forster, P.I. (1998). Cycadophyta. In: McCarthy, P.M. (ed.), Flora of Australia 48: 597–661, 717–719. ABRS/CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. [Protologue of Macrozamia longispina P.I.Forst. & D.L.Jones (p. 717); description read in the online version.]
  • Jones, D.L., Forster, P.I. & Sharma, I.K. (2001). Revision of the Macrozamia miquelii (F.Muell.) A.DC. (Zamiaceae section Macrozamia) group. Austrobaileya 6(1): 67–94. [Detailed description, range, habitat, pollination, allozymes, conservation and toxicity to stock; full text.]
  • Forster, P.I. & Osborne, R. (2001). Focus on Macrozamia longispina P.I.Forst. & D.L.Jones (Zamiaceae, section Parazamia). Encephalartos 66: 8–12, 15. [Specialist society journal; cited by The World List of Cycads and by Jones et al. (2001).]
  • Forster, P.I., Machin, P., Mound, L. & Wilson, G. (1994). Insects associated with the reproductive structures of cycads in Queensland and north-east New South Wales, Australia. Biotropica 26: 217–222. [Pollinating thrips, as cited by Jones et al. (2001) and the Flora of Australia.]
  • Bösenberg, J.D. (2022). Macrozamia longispina. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T42009A48780115. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T42009A48780115.en [Near Threatened, criteria B1a+2a; assessment dated 14 August 2020, from Crossref.]
  • Haynes, J.L. (2022). Etymological compendium of cycad names. Phytotaxa 550(1): 1–31. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.550.1.1 [Etymology, as given by The World List of Cycads.]
  • Healy, P.J. (1967). Macrozamia poisoning. Institute of Inspectors of Stock of New South Wales Year Book. [Reprinted by Flock & Herd.]
  • McKenzie, R.A. (2006). Toxicology for Australian Veterinarians: cycads (Cycas, Macrozamia, Lepidozamia, Bowenia), pp. 282–288. Animal Health Australia, Australian Animal Pathology Standards Program (PDF): https://aapspextranet.animalhealthaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/tav7_17_unknowntoxins_pt2.pdf [Australian veterinary reference text; describes the cattle syndrome as irreversible, ending in paralysis of the hindquarters, with no treatment.]
  • Calonje, M., Stevenson, D.W. & Osborne, R. (2026). The World List of Cycads, version 2026.08.15. Montgomery Botanical Center, Coral Gables. doi:10.5281/zenodo.21958524 [Reference list.]