A New Species of Zamia from Honduras

Abstract

A new species in the genus Zamia (Zamiaceae), Z. standleyi, from northern Honduras is described. This subterranean-stemmed species appears most closely allied to Z. splendens. The combination of characteristics that set Z. standleyi apart from other species in the genus are its arcuate leaves, slightly folded leaflets, sexual dimorphism in cone habit, and pronounced falcate leaflets with extremely spinulose marginal teeth. Its diploid chromosome number is 16. Having first observed an unusual cycad at Fairchild Tropical Gardens, interest in it was intensified during a 1985 visit to the cycad col- lection of Mr. Merrill Rogers in Tampa, Florida, where several fertile microsporangiate and megasporangiate plants were growing. The strobili bore a striking resemblance to those of Z. splendens Schutzman, and were quite unlike those of Z. loddigesii Miq., the species in which it was included in earlier studies of Mesoamer- ican zamias (Schutzman 1982). Herbarium ma- terials do not preserve key leaflet characteris- tics, and often lack reproductive structures and important plant habit details. These missing data, together with the lack of information about the diploid chromosome number, may explain