''Zamia imperialis'' is a species of
plant
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
in the family
Zamiaceae
The Zamiaceae are a family of cycads that are superficially palm or fern-like. They are divided into two subfamilies with eight genera and about 150 species in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Australia and North and South America. ...
. The description is based on specimens found in
Coclé Province
Coclé () is a province of central Panama on the nation's southern coast. The administrative capital is the city of Penonomé. This province was created by the Act of September 12, 1855 with the title of Department of Coclé during the presidenc ...
, Panama. It is part of the
''Zamia skinneri'' species complex.
Taylor B. et al. (2008) described ''Z. imperialis'' based on specimens from the type locality in Coclé Province, Panama. It was previously known as "red-leafed ''skinneri''". Its common name is "cebolla".
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Description
''Z. imperialis'' is a shrub or small tree, with a stem growing up to tall and in diameter. The stem may branch at the base or the top, sometimes both. There are up to 12 leaves per crown, the average number is about three. The leaves are long, with 2 to 9 pairs of leaflets. Leaflets are elliptic
In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special type of ellipse in ...
and acuminate
The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...
, plicate
Plicata, ''plicate'', ''plicated'', ''pleated'' or ''folded'' in Latin, may refer to:
* Lingua plicata, a benign condition characterized by deep grooves in the dorsum of the tongue
* Pars plicata
The pars plicata (also known as corona ciliaris ) ...
(pleated) between veins, and with serrated
Serration is a saw-like appearance or a row of sharp or tooth-like projections. A serrated cutting edge has many small points of contact with the material being cut. By having less contact area than a smooth blade or other edge, the applied pr ...
edges. Leaflets along the middle of the stem are long and wide. The leaves are dark red when they emerge, with light hairs. They mature to a glossy dark green.
Reproduction
Like all ''Zamias'', ''Z. imperialis'' is dioecious
Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...
, with individual plants bearing either male or female stroboli or cones, but not both.sarcotesta
The sarcotesta is a fleshy seedcoat, a type of testa. Examples of seeds with a sarcotesta are pomegranate, ginkgo
''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants, assigned to the gymnosperms. The scientific name is also used as the Eng ...
(seed coat) is bright red on a mature seed. Strobili appear annually. The seeds take about a year to develop after fertilization. Female plants do not produce megastrobili every year.
Habitat
''Z. imperialis'' grows on loam
Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...
soils with lots of humus
In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Lati ...
in open upland forest or in muddy soil in secondary growth. Many plants grow in shade, which apparently restricts how often they produce strobili. Plants in sunnier areas where trees have fallen produce strobili more frequently. Individual plants are widely scattered and hard to find, blending into the surrounding vegetation. Seedlings are rare. Two main populations are known, one with slightly more than 100 plants, and the other with less than 100 plants. While one population is in a national park, both are subject to habitat destruction. Locals regularly traverse the areas where the plants grow and chop at the plants with machetes because of the prickles on the petioles of the leafs. One population of ''Z. obliqua'', which is found in several locations in Panama, grows in association with ''Z. imperialis''.
References
Sources
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External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q15611769
imperialis
Flora of Panama