''Zamia sinuensis'' 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. ...

described in 2021. The stem is subterranean or partly subterranean, with dark green compound leaves up to long. and reproductive cones on long stalks. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is tropical monsoon forest in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. Only five plants have been observed.

Classification

''Z. sinuensis'' was described and named in 2021 by Michael Calonje and Jonatan Castro Hernandéz, based on the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

found in 2017 in the Paramillo Natural National Park in Tierralta,

Córdoba Department Córdoba (, ) is a Department of the Republic of Colombia located to the north of this country in the Colombian Caribbean Region. Córdoba faces to the north with the Caribbean Sea, to the northeast with the Sucre Department, east with the Bol ...

. Colombia. Additional specimens (

paratype In zoology and botany, a paratype is a specimen of an organism that helps define what the scientific name of a species and other taxon actually represents, but it is not the holotype (and in botany is also neither an isotype (biology), isotype ...

s) also found in the park were considered in the description. The specific name ''sinuensis'' was chosen because the species is found in the basin of the

Sinú River Sinú River (), is a river in northwestern Colombia that flows mostly through the Córdoba Department and into the Caribbean. It is the third most important river in the Caribbean Region, after the Magdalena River and the Cauca River. It is ...

. ''Z. sinuensis'' is a member of the Manicata clade.

Description

The stem of ''Z. sinuensis'' is subterranean or partly subterranean, with one to three apices. The stem is cylindrical and long and in diameter. There are three to six dark green leaves on each apex of the stem. The leaves are long and wide. Leaf stalks are long and thick, covered with prickles that are long. The

axes Axes, plural of ''axe'' and of ''axis'', may refer to * ''Axes'' (album), a 2005 rock album by the British band Electrelane * a possibly still empty plot (graphics) See also * Axis (disambiguation) An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics ...

of the leaves are long, with prickles along the proximal section. There are 11 to 54 leaflets per leaf. Leaflets are

lanceolate 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 ...

, dark green, and lustrous, with toothed edges. Leaflets in the middle of the leaf are long and wide. As with all ''Zamia'', ''Z. sinuensis'' 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 being either male or female. Pollen (male)

strobili A strobilus (: strobili) is a structure present on many land plant species consisting of sporangia-bearing structures densely aggregated along a stem. Strobili are often called cones, but some botanists restrict the use of the term cone to the woo ...

(cones) are conical-cylindrical, long, and in diameter. One to five male strobili appear at one time on a plant, on peduncles (stalks) that are tall and in diameter. Ovulate (female) strobili are reddish-brown, cylindrical, long, and in diameter. Only one female strobilus appears on a plant at a time, on a dark olive-green peduncle tall by in diameter. Seeds are ovoid to ovoid-pyramidal, long and thick.

Habitat

''Z. sinuensis'' is found in tropical monsoon forest in northern Columbia, between in elevation. Only five plants were found in the type locality.

References

Sources

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q131148686 sinuensis Endemic flora of Colombia Plants described in 2021