Zamia onan-reyesii

Zamia onan-reyesii is a cycad of north-western Honduras, known only from the Merendón mountains near San Pedro Sula (department of Cortés), at about 1,000 to 1,300 m. Described in 2008, this species of the genus Zamia stands out, according to its authors, for its size and that of its female cone: a trunk up to 2 m tall and a cone 43 cm long on the type plant. The same plant was described the same year as Zamia bussellii, now a synonym. The IUCN rates it Endangered (2022 assessment).

Key facts about Zamia onan-reyesii

  • Accepted name: Zamia onan-reyesii C.Nelson & Sandoval (2008), accepted by The World List of Cycads (version 2026.08.15), by GBIF and by the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, on which POWO is based; POWO could not be consulted directly
  • Former names and synonyms: Zamia bussellii Schutzman, R.S.Adams, J.L.Haynes & Whitelock (2008); spelt Zamia onanreyesii in some publications
  • Family: Zamiaceae, order Cycadales
  • Common names: no English name; “camotillo”, a name used for all the Zamia of Honduras
  • Natural range: Honduras, department of Cortés (Merendón mountains), 1,090 to 1,286 m for the published collections
  • IUCN status: Endangered (EN), criteria B1ab(iii,v)+2ab(iii,v), 2022 assessment
  • CITES and other protection: CITES Appendix II (whole genus, since 1977; seeds exempt under annotation #4); Annex B in the European Union
  • Documented hardiness: no data (see Cold hardiness)
  • Light and soil: shaded understorey of subtropical moist montane forest; soil not documented
  • Habit and adult size: a shrub up to 2 m tall, with a ringed trunk 14.3 cm across (type); more than 15 leaves 1.8 m long on adults
  • In the UK, US and Australia: Montgomery Botanical Center, the Huntington, San Diego Botanic Garden, Longwood Gardens and the University of Hawaii at Hilo (US); Royal Botanic Garden Sydney (Australia); no British record
  • Toxicity: no data specific to the species; the Zamia of Honduras have a reputation for being highly poisonous (see Toxicity and precautions)

How to recognise Zamia onan-reyesii

Zamia onan-reyesii is recognised by its shrubby habit, rare among the Zamia of Honduras, which almost all have underground stems, and by its huge cones. The original description by Cyril Hardy Nelson Sutherland and German Sandoval González (Ceiba, 2008) gives:

  • Trunk: aerial and ringed; that of the type was 1.92 m tall and 14.3 cm in diameter.
  • Leaves: 1 to 3 on young plants, more than 15 on adults, 1.81 m long and 0.47 m wide; petiole 40 cm long, hairless, armed with short, sharp spines towards the base; up to 29 pairs of leaflets.
  • Leaflets: hairless, almost leathery, nearly stalkless, sickle-shaped, with an acuminate tip and a toothed margin (18 teeth on average); the median ones measure 36 cm by 3.9 cm.
  • Female cone: green, cylindrical and acuminate, 43 cm long and 11.6 cm across, on a peduncle densely covered in brown hairs; 9 to 12 scales per column; ovules white, turning salmon-coloured when ripe.
  • Male cone: not seen by the authors of the original description.

A 2009 study devoted to Zamia decumbens adds to this description under the double name “Zamia bussellii/onan-reyesii”: upright or leaning stems up to 2 m tall; papery leaflets with well-marked teeth and a distinct longitudinal fold near their base; male cones up to 27.5 cm long and 3.8 cm across, on a peduncle of 8.5 cm, bearing more than 40 pollen sacs in a single group per scale; female cones 22.4 to 25.2 cm long and 10 to 11.2 cm across. The leaflets are called papery there, whereas the original description calls them almost leathery: the two sources disagree on this point. Jay Vannini (2019), a naturalist who grows the species, also finds the leaflets “somewhat papery” and describes large plants, usually with erect trunks, a full crown and lightly spined petioles, and a very distinctive first seedling leaf.

Hybrids

No hybrid, natural or raised in cultivation, has been documented.

Possible confusion

Its closest relatives, according to Calonje and colleagues (2009), are two trunk-forming Zamia of northern Central America whose ranges do not overlap with its own:

  • Zamia tuerckheimii, of Alta Verapaz (Guatemala): upright stems up to 3 m tall, papery leaflets that are entire or barely toothed at the tip, and male cones 14 to 17 cm long with 18 to 26 pollen sacs in two groups;
  • Zamia decumbens, of the Maya Mountains (Belize): lying stems up to 80 cm long that rot at the base and root horizontally, and male cones on long peduncles of 11 to 23 cm.

Vannini (2019) sees things differently: in his view its large seeds and the shape of its first seedling leaf place it closer to Zamia fairchildiana and related species of southern Costa Rica than to its geographical neighbours Zamia tuerckheimii and Zamia decumbens. In Honduras itself, the three other Zamia (Zamia standleyi, Zamia sandovalii and Zamia oreillyi) have underground stems, according to a 2016 overview by the CICY herbarium.

Taxonomy

Zamia onan-reyesii is an accepted name according to The World List of Cycads, GBIF and the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, on which POWO is based (read on GBIF, version of 4 June 2026, which also lists Zamia bussellii as a synonym); POWO itself could not be consulted. The species was published twice in 2008, by two different teams: as Zamia onan-reyesii by Cyril Hardy Nelson Sutherland and German Sandoval González, of the herbarium of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, in the journal Ceiba (volume 49, pages 135–136), and as Zamia bussellii by Bart Schutzman, R.S. Adams, Jody Haynes and Loran Whitelock in The Cycad Newsletter (volume 31, pages 22–26).

Priority remained in doubt for a while: in 2009 Calonje and colleagues were still writing “Zamia bussellii/onan-reyesii”. The same year, the revision of the Zamia of Mega-Mexico by Nicolalde-Morejón, Vovides and Stevenson (Brittonia 61: 320) settled the matter on the dates of issue: 6 September 2008 for Zamia onan-reyesii and 16 October 2008 for Zamia bussellii. The first name published has priority, so Zamia bussellii is a synonym. For the reader, plants labelled Zamia bussellii in collections and the trade are Zamia onan-reyesii.

In the molecular study of Calonje and colleagues (2019), as summarised by Skelley and colleagues (2026), it belongs to the Mesoamerican clade of the genus. A plant from Cortés was also sampled in the transcriptome phylogeny of Lindstrom and colleagues (2024), which illustrates its rainforest habitat in Honduras.

Etymology and history

The epithet honours Onán Reyes, a biology student at the National Autonomous University of Honduras who found the plant fertile after several trips to the site and helped in the study of the country’s cycads (The World List of Cycads, after Haynes, 2022). The name is hyphenated in The World List of Cycads; it is also found written onanreyesii.

Sterile Zamia had been seen for some time in the Merendón mountains; a 2003 expedition including Jody Haynes and Mark Bonta collected a specimen (paratype, 31 July 2003, 1,090 m). The fertile type was collected on 7 January 2008 by Onán Reyes (no. 406) in the community of El Gallito, on the Filo del Cerrito, 7 km west of San Pedro Sula, in subtropical moist forest, at 1,286 m. It is kept in the herbarium of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (TEFH). Montgomery Botanical Center, in Florida, registered its first accession of the species in 2003, according to its online catalogue.

Common names

No English name is attested. In Honduras the Zamia are called “camotillos” and are feared for their toxicity; a 2016 overview published by the herbarium of the Yucatán Scientific Research Centre (CICY) applies the name to all the species of the country, with no name specific to Zamia onan-reyesii.

In the wild

Zamia onan-reyesii is endemic to Honduras. It is known only from the Merendón mountains, in the department of Cortés, in the north-west of the country: according to the 2016 overview, which cites the description of Zamia bussellii, it is restricted to two slopes of these mountains, which are a protected area. The published collections were made between 1,090 and 1,286 m, in subtropical moist forest; a 2011 study places it in tropical evergreen forest, and Vannini (2019) describes a somewhat localised species of foothill and intermediate tropical wet forest, at its finest in heavily shaded, lightly disturbed forest.

Its male cones harbour a beetle of its own, Pharaxonotha thomasi, described in 2020 from collections in Cortés and known only from the male cones of this species; Skelley and colleagues (2026) place it in one of the early-diverging lineages of the genus and note that no Allocorynina weevil is known to share its cones. Beetles of this genus pollinate many Zamia, but the role of this one has not been detailed. The phenology and soil of the cycad are not documented.

Vannini (2019) also reported an isolated population of short-trunked Zamia that he had found in 1990 on soil in foothill forest in eastern Guatemala and thought might belong to this species; herbarium material from nearby, examined by Michael Calonje, indicates that these plants correspond rather to Zamia cf. monticola, and the site has since been occupied by squatters.

Conservation status and regulation

Zamia onan-reyesii is rated Endangered (EN) by the IUCN under criteria B1ab(iii,v)+2ab(iii,v), in an assessment by Mark Bonta and Anders Lindstrom published in 2022 (The World List of Cycads; category confirmed by GBIF); the Red List page itself could not be consulted. The criteria reflect a very small extent of occurrence and area of occupancy, with declining habitat quality and number of mature plants. The 2016 overview stressed that the state of the populations of the four Honduran Zamia was unknown, although these plants are sought after by collectors.

Like all Zamia except Zamia restrepoi, which is in Appendix I, Zamia onan-reyesii is covered by the listing of the genus in CITES Appendix II, in force since 4 February 1977. Annotation #4 (the version adopted at CoP20, in force on 5 March 2026) exempts seeds, pollen, seedlings and tissue cultures obtained in vitro and transported in sterile containers, and cut flowers of artificially propagated plants; international trade in the plants themselves requires an export permit. In the European Union the species falls under Annex B of Regulation (EC) No 338/97, whose current list is set by Regulation (EU) 2026/1383, applicable since 29 June 2026. Species+, the official CITES database, names the species, with Zamia bussellii as a synonym, and confirms this status (checked on 3 October 2026).

This general information does not replace the official texts: check the regulations in force before buying or exchanging plants or seeds, ask the seller for proof of origin and prefer plants raised from cultivated seed.

Growing Zamia onan-reyesii

Only a few growing records exist, but they are encouraging. Vannini (2019), who grows it in California, calls it “a very rewarding species in cultivation”. The botanic garden of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, in Tegucigalpa, holds 15 plants: a study published in 2026 observed cones there, caterpillars feeding on the leaves and, on one plant, a chlorosis attributed to a nutrient deficiency.

No growing guidelines have been published for the species. Simon Lavaud, of the French specialist nursery Cycadales.eu, lists it among the exceptions to his group of easy Mexican and northern Central American Zamia, to be treated rather like the Zamia of lowland tropical forest: free-draining, neutral to acid compost and water, nights at about 22 °C (71.6 °F), with brief drops to about 15 °C (59 °F) tolerated, days at 28 to 30 °C (82.4 to 86 °F) and humid air, 70 to 90% (Lavaud, 2023). These are general recommendations for a group, not trials on the species; its mid-elevation origin, cooler than the lowlands, is the only other guide.

Outdoor and in-ground cultivation

Outdoors it is only conceivable in frost-free tropical and subtropical climates with humid air, in the shade of trees and in free-draining soil, as in its forest habitat. None of the gardens that hold it says whether its plants are grown in the open.

Container cultivation

In temperate climates it is a plant for a warm glasshouse or conservatory, in partial or full shade, in a free-draining compost kept moist in the growing season, with warmth by night as well as by day. Its trunk and its leaves of nearly 2 m will eventually need space.

In cultivation in the UK, US and Australia

In short: held by five American gardens and by Sydney; no British record.

  • United States: Montgomery Botanical Center (Coral Gables, Florida) lists two accession numbers in its online catalogue, from 2003 and 2019 (queried on 25 October 2026); BGCI also records it at the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens (San Marino, California), San Diego Botanic Garden (Encinitas, California), Longwood Gardens (Kennett Square, Pennsylvania) and the University of Hawaii at Hilo (queried on 25 October 2026). Vannini (2019) grows it in a private collection in California.
  • United Kingdom: no record in BGCI or in the online catalogues of British gardens.
  • Australia: the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney lists it in its online catalogue (Garden Explorer, updated on 1 October 2026) and declares it to BGCI.

A BGCI declaration shows that a garden held the plant at some point, not that it is alive there today. In Europe, the botanic garden of Lyon, in France, also declares it.

Propagation

The plant is dioecious: a male and a female plant are needed to obtain seed. No germination data specific to the species have been published; Vannini (2019) notes that its seeds are large. Seeds are exempt from CITES under annotation #4; make sure they come from cultivated plants.

Pests and diseases

At the botanic garden in Tegucigalpa, it is the species of the collection that attracts the most invertebrates: its leaves serve as egg-laying sites and food for butterfly caterpillars, including those of Parides erithalion, according to the 2026 study. A chlorosis due to a nutrient deficiency was also observed there. In cultivation elsewhere, Zamia are chiefly at risk from root rot in cold, waterlogged compost and from scale insects.

Cold hardiness

No cold tolerance data exist for Zamia onan-reyesii. It lives in subtropical moist forest at about 1,100 to 1,300 m, with no known frost; nothing indicates that it tolerates frost.

Mediterranean and European experience

No outdoor planting has been reported in France or elsewhere in Europe, and no dated frost episode concerns the species. For readers in Mediterranean-type climates such as coastal California or southern Australia, it remains a plant for frost-free conditions; in Europe, a heated glasshouse.

United Kingdom, United States and Australia

No cold record has been published from these countries. The gardens that hold it are in southern Florida, coastal southern California, Pennsylvania, Hawaii and Sydney; none says how its plants are grown. In the UK it needs a heated glasshouse all year.

Toxicity and precautions

No toxicity study specific to Zamia onan-reyesii has been published. The risk is, however, well documented in cycads: Zamia contain toxic glycosides (cycasin, macrozamin), from which methylazoxymethanol is derived, a compound toxic to the liver and nervous system, and the ASPCA cites cycasin and BMAA, a neurotoxic amino acid, for Zamia furfuracea, which it lists as toxic to dogs, cats and horses; the seeds are the most dangerous part. In Honduras, the stems and roots of the “camotillos” have a reputation for being highly poisonous and, according to the 2016 overview, have been used to poison people and animals; this reputation concerns the country’s Zamia in general. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, treat the plant as poisonous: keep seeds and leaves out of reach of children and animals, and wear gloves to clean seeds. If any part is swallowed, contact a poison centre, a doctor or a vet straight away.

Traditional uses

No use specific to the species is documented. The reputation of the Honduran “camotillos” as poisons is described under Toxicity and precautions.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Zamia onan-reyesii grow?

Only in Honduras, in the Merendón mountains near San Pedro Sula (Cortés), in subtropical moist forest at about 1,100 to 1,300 m.

Is it the same plant as Zamia bussellii?

Yes. Both names were published in 2008 for the same species; Zamia onan-reyesii appeared first (6 September against 16 October) and has priority.

How can it be recognised?

By its aerial trunk up to 2 m tall, rare among the Zamia of Honduras, its large leaves of 1.8 m with up to 29 pairs of toothed leaflets, and its very large green female cones (more than 40 cm long on the type).

Where does the name come from?

From Onán Reyes, a student at the National Autonomous University of Honduras, who found the plant fertile in 2008.

Is it endangered?

Yes. The IUCN rates it Endangered (2022): it is known only from two slopes of a single mountain range.

Is it easy to grow?

Reportedly, yes, in warm conditions: a collector who grows it in California calls it very rewarding, and it cones in the university botanic garden in Tegucigalpa. It is grown in a handful of botanic gardens in the United States, Australia and France.

Is it hardy?

No data allow us to say so. It lives in tropical mountains with no known frost and has never been tested in the cold.

Is it poisonous?

It must be assumed so. In Honduras, the Zamia (“camotillos”) have a reputation for being highly poisonous, and the cycads studied contain serious toxins.

Further reading on Succulentes

Sources

Reference sites

Bibliography

  • Nelson Sutherland, C.H. & Sandoval González, G.G. (2008). Una especie nueva de Zamia (Zamiaceae) de Honduras. Ceiba 49(1): 135–136. [Original description; full text read.]
  • Schutzman, B., Adams, R.S., Haynes, J.L. & Whitelock, L.M. (2008). A new endemic Zamia from Honduras (Cycadales: Zamiaceae). The Cycad Newsletter 31(2-3): 22–26. [Description of Zamia bussellii; not consulted.]
  • Nicolalde-Morejón, F., Vovides, A.P. & Stevenson, D.W. (2009). Taxonomic revision of Zamia in Mega-Mexico. Brittonia 61(4): 301–335. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12228-009-9077-9 [Priority of the name; passage quoted by The World List of Cycads, article not consulted (paywalled).]
  • Calonje, M., Meerman, J., Griffith, M.P. & Hoese, G. (2009). A new species of Zamia (Zamiaceae) from the Maya Mountains of Belize. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 3(1): 31–41. [Full text read.]
  • Rivera García, I.S. (2016). Los venenosos camotillos en Honduras: el género Zamia (Zamiaceae). Desde el Herbario CICY 8: 77–80. [Full text read.]
  • García, P.A., Banegas, S.C., Álvarez, M.N., Sanabria, D.L. & Rodríguez, M.J. (2026). Interacciones ecológicas y signos de estrés ambiental observadas en la familia Zamiaceae del Jardín Botánico de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras. Revista Portal de la Ciencia 21: 65–76. https://doi.org/10.5377/pc.v1i21.23095 [Full text read.]
  • Skelley, P.E., Tang, W., Salzman, S. & Calonje, M. (2026). Taxonomic review of Pharaxonotha Reitter (Coleoptera: Erotylidae: Pharaxonothinae) inhabiting cones of the cycads Zamia L. and Microcycas (Miq.) A.DC. (Cycadales) in the Caribbean Basin and Central America north of Panama, with descriptions of five new species. Insecta Mundi 1184: 1–48. https://doi.org/10.64338/im.1184.9bdte [Full text read.]
  • Skelley, P.E. & Tang, W. (2020). Two new species of Pharaxonotha Reitter among the early-diverging lineages, with a key to the species of the genus (Coleoptera: Erotylidae: Pharaxonothinae). Insecta Mundi 0837: 1–11. [Description of Pharaxonotha thomasi; cited after Skelley et al. (2026).]
  • Lindstrom, A., Habib, S., Dong, S., Gong, Y., Liu, J., Calonje, M., Stevenson, D. & Zhang, S. (2024). Transcriptome sequencing data provide a solid base to understand the phylogenetic relationships, biogeography and reticulated evolution of the genus Zamia L. (Cycadales: Zamiaceae). Annals of Botany 134(5): 747–768. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae065 [Full text read on PubMed Central.]
  • Bonta, M. & Lindstrom, A. (2022). Zamia onan-reyesii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T187843A1829555. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T187843A1829555.en [Red List assessment; reference given by The World List of Cycads and checked on Crossref; the Red List page could not be consulted.]
  • Vannini, J. (2019). Central American and Panamanian cycads in field and greenhouse. Exotica Esoterica, 17 February 2019 (updated 2026). [Naturalist’s article; read.]
  • Lavaud, S. (2023). Comment cultiver les Zamia en climat tempéré. Cycadales.eu. [Growing advice for groups of species; read directly.]
  • 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; not consulted directly.]
  • 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; consulted directly.]