Zamia orinoquiensis

Zamia orinoquiensis is a cycad of Colombia that grows in the understorey of moist forests on the eastern foothills of the Andes and of the Serranía de La Macarena, in the Llanos region (Orinoquía), at 230 to 730 m. Described in 2022, this species of the genus Zamia brings together populations long placed in Zamia muricata, the Venezuelan species. It has not yet been assessed by the IUCN; its authors propose listing it as Vulnerable.

Key facts about Zamia orinoquiensis

  • Accepted name: Zamia orinoquiensis Calonje, Betancur & A.Lindstr. (2022), 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: no synonym; populations previously referred to Zamia muricata (Stevenson 2001, 2004)
  • Family: Zamiaceae, order Cycadales
  • Common names: no English name; “quiripia” in the Serranía de La Macarena (herbarium label)
  • Natural range: Colombia, departments of Casanare, Cundinamarca and Meta; 230 to 730 m
  • IUCN status: Not Evaluated (NE); Vulnerable (VU, B1ab(iii)) proposed by the authors in 2022
  • CITES and other protection: CITES Appendix II (listing of the genus; seeds exempt under annotation #4); Annex B in the European Union
  • Documented hardiness: no data (see Cold hardiness)
  • Light and soil: shaded understorey of tropical moist and wet forest, often on moderate slopes
  • Habit and adult size: underground stem up to 35 cm long and 12 cm across; 1 to 3 (4) leaves, 66 to 160 cm long
  • In the UK, US and Australia: no garden declares it to BGCI and it is absent from the online catalogues of Montgomery Botanical Center, Fairchild and the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
  • Toxicity: no data specific to the species; treat it as poisonous, like all cycads (see Toxicity and precautions)

How to recognise Zamia orinoquiensis

Zamia orinoquiensis is a Zamia with an underground stem and few leaves, whose leathery, stiff leaflets are toothed in their upper half. The original description, published in 2022 in Phytotaxa by Michael Calonje and seven co-authors, gives:

  • Stem: underground, tuberous, usually solitary, globose to cylindrical, up to 35 cm long and 12 cm across.
  • Leaves: 1 to 3, rarely 4, erect to spreading, 66 to 160 cm long; petiole 53 to 102 cm, dark olive green, sparsely to moderately armed with prickles 1 to 5 mm long, occasionally unarmed.
  • Leaflets: 6 to 22, leathery, lanceolate to obovate, abruptly acuminate, straight or slightly sickle-shaped; 20 to 45 teeth confined to the upper half or quarter; the median leaflets measure 18 to 35 cm by 3.8 to 11 cm.
  • Young leaves: light reddish brown, covered in white and orange down, becoming green and hairless.
  • Seedlings: first leaf with two leaflets.
  • Male cones: 1 to 3 per stem, cylindrical, brown to reddish brown, 7.2 to 12 cm by 1.6 to 2.2 cm, on a peduncle 8 to 17 cm long.
  • Female cones: one per stem, cylindrical, burgundy when they emerge, then black with green undertones at maturity, 7.3 to 14 cm by 4.7 to 5 cm, on a peduncle 6 to 18 cm long.
  • Seeds: ovoid, with a red-orange fleshy coat; inner shell 11 to 15 mm by 7 to 10 mm.

Hybrids

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

Possible confusion

The historical confusion is with Zamia muricata, of Venezuela and of the Serranía de Macuira (La Guajira, Colombia), under whose name Zamia orinoquiensis was filed for decades. Both have an underground stem and leaflets clearly toothed towards the tip. The 2022 authors separate them as follows, on the basis of statistical measurements:

  • Zamia orinoquiensis: 1 to 4 leaves per stem; 6 to 22 leathery leaflets, held stiffly, usually obovate; two leaflets on the first leaf of seedlings; reddish-brown male cones, with 23 to 36 pollen sacs per scale; dark brown to black female cones;
  • Zamia muricata: a larger plant, with 2 to 9 leaves up to 2.5 m long; 15 to 54 papery leaflets, slightly drooping, usually lanceolate; four leaflets on the first leaf; cream to tan male cones, with 12 to 18 pollen sacs per scale; dark olive-green female cones on a longer peduncle.

Their habitats also differ: moist forests receiving 2,200 to 4,200 mm of rain a year for Zamia orinoquiensis, dry and moist forests with 550 to 1,430 mm in Venezuela for Zamia muricata. A herbarium specimen from the Serranía de La Macarena (Callejas & Marulanda 5911), cited in 2001 among the specimens of Zamia melanorrhachis, is now one of the paratypes of Zamia orinoquiensis.

Taxonomy

Zamia orinoquiensis is an accepted name according to The World List of Cycads, GBIF and the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, on which POWO is based (“Phytotaxa 556: 124 (2022)”, read on GBIF, version of 4 June 2026); POWO itself could not be consulted. In his work on the cycads of Colombia (2001, 2004), Dennis Stevenson had referred to Zamia muricata the few Zamia collected at the foot of the Eastern Cordillera, on the Llanos side, while calling them “enigmatic”, because no fertile specimens were available and they lay more than 600 km from the Venezuelan populations.

The discovery of viable populations in Cundinamarca made it possible to study these plants in the field in February 2020 and to compare them with six populations of Zamia muricata in Venezuela (2006, 2021). The team of Michael Calonje (Montgomery Botanical Center), Julio Betancur (National University of Colombia) and Anders Lindstrom (Global Biodiversity Conservancy, Thailand) concluded that they form a distinct species, published on 4 August 2022 in Phytotaxa (volume 556, pages 119–135), together with a redescription of Zamia muricata. In practice, the Zamia of the Colombian Llanos should no longer be called Zamia muricata.

In the transcriptome phylogeny published in 2024 by Anders Lindstrom and colleagues, a sample from Meta comes out as sister to the pair formed by Zamia muricata and Zamia lecointei, of Amazonia; the 2022 authors had compared it only with Zamia muricata, because its populations had been included in that species.

Etymology and history

The epithet orinoquiensis refers to the Orinoquía, the natural region of Colombia also known as the Llanos Orientales (Eastern Plains), where the species grows.

The type was collected on 1 February 2020 in the municipality of Medina (Cundinamarca), at 500 to 525 m, by Jonatan Castro, Cristina López, Michael Calonje, Cristian Castro and Fredy Parra (no. 1554). The holotype is kept in the herbarium of the University of Antioquia (HUA), with isotypes in five other Colombian herbaria. The oldest paratype cited dates from 1939 (Villanueva, Casanare).

Common names

No English name is attested. The original description reports the name “quiripia” in the Serranía de La Macarena, from the label of a herbarium specimen (Gaitán et al. 83, COAH); it is a local name whose use is not documented elsewhere.

In the wild

Zamia orinoquiensis is endemic to the Colombian Orinoquía. It grows mainly on the foothills of the piedmont of the Eastern Cordillera and of the Serranía de La Macarena, extending slightly onto the neighbouring high plains, in the departments of Casanare, Cundinamarca and Meta, at 230 to 730 m. It is found in patches in the shaded understorey of tropical moist and wet forests, usually on moderate slopes.

The climate of its range is hot and very wet: mean annual temperature of 24.8 to 26.8 °C (76.64 to 80.24 °F), 2,200 to 4,200 mm of rain a year, with a peak in May and June, a second one in October and a dry January (9 to 95 mm).

In February 2020 the team observed ripe or nearly receptive female cones and male cones shedding pollen; ripe female cones had already been collected in August 1998 and July 2004. Colonies of an unidentified Pharaxonotha beetle, a probable pollinator, were living in a male cone at Medina. The three populations visited had seedlings and juveniles and a good proportion of viable seeds. Eumaeus caterpillars, usual on Zamia, were not seen in Cundinamarca but have been reported in Casanare.

Conservation status and regulation

Zamia orinoquiensis has not yet been assessed by the IUCN (NE in The World List of Cycads). Its authors recommend listing it as Vulnerable (VU) under criterion B1ab(iii): 16 known populations and an extent of occurrence of about 18,148 km², but severely fragmented populations. Five are in national parks (Tinigua, Serranía de La Macarena, Cordillera de los Picachos); the other eleven survive in small forest fragments of less than 100 hectares, surrounded by pasture and built-up areas, with no protection measures. The species is to be included in Colombia’s national conservation action plan for cycads.

Like all Zamia except Zamia restrepoi, which is in Appendix I, Zamia orinoquiensis 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+ does not yet name the species, but the listing covers the whole genus (“Zamia spp.”) and therefore includes it (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 orinoquiensis

No growing guidelines specific to Zamia orinoquiensis have been published. Cultivated plants exist in Colombia: the authors studied some at the Eloy Valenzuela botanic garden in Floridablanca (Santander), and one of the specimens they cite comes from a plant cultivated in Casanare.

Its habitat points to an understorey plant of a hot climate that is very wet all year, with no cold season. No growing trial outside Colombia has been published.

Outdoor and in-ground cultivation

Outdoors it is only conceivable in frost-free, hot and humid tropical climates, in the shade of trees and in free-draining soil, as in its forest habitat.

Container cultivation

In temperate climates it is a plant for a hot, humid glasshouse, in shade, with warmth all year; its few leaves of up to 1.6 m make it a manageable pot plant.

In cultivation in the UK, US and Australia

In short: no record in the three countries.

  • United States: no record in BGCI or in the online catalogues of Montgomery Botanical Center and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (BGCI and Montgomery queried on 25 October 2026); a herbarium specimen at Fairchild (FTG) comes from a plant cultivated in Casanare, Colombia.
  • United Kingdom: no record in BGCI.
  • Australia: no record in BGCI or in the online catalogue of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.

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. Seeds are exempt from CITES under annotation #4; make sure they come from cultivated plants.

Pests and diseases

Caterpillars of the butterfly genus Eumaeus have been reported on the species in Casanare. No disease has been documented.

Cold hardiness

No cold tolerance data exist for Zamia orinoquiensis. Mean annual temperatures in its range are about 25 to 27 °C (77 to 80.6 °F): nothing suggests that it tolerates frost.

Mediterranean and European experience

No growing result has been published 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 is not a garden plant; in Europe, it needs a hot glasshouse.

United Kingdom, United States and Australia

No cold record has been published in any country. In the UK it needs a heated glasshouse all year; in the United States, only frost-free areas such as Hawaii or southern Florida could be considered for planting outdoors.

Toxicity and precautions

No toxicity study specific to Zamia orinoquiensis 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 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 has been documented for this species.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Zamia orinoquiensis grow?

In Colombia, in the Llanos (Orinoquía): on the foothills of the Eastern Cordillera and the Serranía de La Macarena, in Casanare, Cundinamarca and Meta, at 230 to 730 m, in the understorey of moist forest.

Is it the same plant as Zamia muricata?

No. The Zamia of the Colombian Llanos were placed in Zamia muricata until 2022; they form a distinct species, with fewer, leathery leaflets, seedlings with two leaflets and darker cones.

How can it be recognised?

By its underground stem bearing 1 to 3 leaves, its 6 to 22 leathery leaflets toothed towards the tip, its reddish-brown male cones and its female cones, blackish when ripe.

Is it endangered?

It has not been assessed by the IUCN. Its authors consider it Vulnerable: of its 16 populations, eleven survive in small forest fragments surrounded by pasture.

Does it have a common name?

Not in English. A herbarium label from the Serranía de La Macarena gives the local name “quiripia”.

Is it hardy?

Almost certainly not. No cold data exist; it is a plant of very wet tropical forest that needs a hot glasshouse.

Is it poisonous?

It must be assumed so. No analysis specific to the species exists, but the cycads studied contain serious toxins, especially in their seeds.

Further reading on Succulentes

Sources

Reference sites

Bibliography

  • Calonje, M., Betancur, J., Lindstrom, A., López-Gallego, C., Castro, J., Castro, C., Niño, S.M. & Canelón Barraez, D. (2022). Zamia orinoquiensis (Zamiaceae, Cycadales), a new species from the western Orinoquía region of Colombia. Phytotaxa 556(2): 119–135. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.556.2.2 [Original description; full text read.]
  • Stevenson, D.W. (2001). Orden Cycadales. Flora de Colombia 21: 1–91. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. [Earlier treatment referring these populations to Zamia muricata; extracts read via The World List of Cycads.]
  • 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.]
  • 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.]