Zamia pseudoparasitica is the only known species of Zamia that is epiphytic.[9] Furthermore, it is the only known obligate epiphytic gymnosperm.[10] growing on the branches of forest trees. It has a very short trunk but long leaves over 3 m long. The seeds are orange.
The root system can be very long and may reach and root in the ground in some cases. Taproots of 15 m in length have been documented.[11]
Cytology
The diploid chromosome count of Zamia pseudoparasitica is 2n = 16.[12][13]
Ecology
Pollination
The beetle Notorhopalotria taylori appears to be the main pollinator of Zamia pseudoparasitica.[10] The beetle lives in the male cones of Zamia pseudoparasitica.[14]
Primary forest is an important habitat for this species, as it has been unable to re-colonize secondary forests within a timeframe of 50 years.[10]
Horticulture
Some attempts have been made to bring the plant into cultivation as a plant to be grown in a hanging basket, with some degree of success.[16][17][18][19] Watering should be done with soft, slightly acidic water. The substrate, which may be composed of coco chips, bark, moss, and anorganic materials like pumice and perlite, should be kept moist and should not dry out completely.[20]
↑ Caputo, P., Cozzolino, S., Gaudio, L., Moretti, A., & Stevenson, D. W. (1996). Karyology and Phylogeny of Some Mesoamerican Species of Zamia (Zamiaceae). American Journal of Botany, 83(11), 1513–1520. https://doi.org/10.2307/2446105
↑ Moretti, A., & Sabato, S. (1984). Karyotype Evolution by Centromeric Fission in Zamia (Cycadales). Plant Systematics and Evolution, 146(3/4), 215–223. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23671504
↑ O’Brien, Charles & Tang, William. (2015). Revision of the New World cycad weevils of the subtribe Allocorynina, with description of two new genera and three new subgenera (Coleoptera: Belidae: Oxycoryninae). Zootaxa. 3970. 1-87. 10.11646/zootaxa.3970.1.1.
↑ Seemann, Berthold Carl. 1854. Botany of the Voyage of H.M.S. ~Herald~ 2: 202, 253, Zamia pseudoparasitica
↑ Kuntze, Carl Ernst Otto. 1891. Revisio Generum Plantarum: vascularium omnium atque cellularium multarum secundum leges nomeclaturae internationales cum enumeratione plantarum exoticarum in itinere mundi collectarum ... Leipzig 2: 803, as Palmifolium pseudoparasiticum
↑ Stevenson, D. W., R. Osborne & J. Hendricks. 1990. A world list of cycads. Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden 57: 200–206.
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