Ceratozamia huastecorum Avendano , Vovides & Cast.-Campos, Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 141(3): 395. 2003

Martinez-Dominguez, Lili, Nicolalde-Morejon, Fernando, Vergara-Silva, Francisco & Stevenson, Dennis Wm., 2022, Monograph of Ceratozamia (Zamiaceae, Cycadales): an endangered genus, PhytoKeys 208, pp. 1-102 : 1

13. Ceratozamia huastecorum Avendano, Vovides & Cast.-Campos, Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 141(3): 395. 2003

Fig. 15L

Type.

Mexico. Veracruz: Mun. Tepetzintla, Sierra de San Juan Otontepec , 1,300 m, 16 Dec 1981, G. Castillo-Campos et al. 2567 ♀ (holotype: XAL! [XAL0016937]) .

Description.

Stem 20-50 cm long, 14-20 cm in diameter, semi-hypogeous, erect and decumbent. Cataphylls 3.0-4.0 × 2.5-3.0 cm wide at the base, persistent, triangular, reddish brown, densely brown tomentose at emergence, glabrous at maturity, apex acuminate. Leaves 4-7, 50-80 cm long, ascending, light green at emergence with whitish gray trichomes, glabrous at maturity. Petiole 20-40 cm long, terete, linear, green in mature leaves; with 10-30 thin prickles 0.21-0.35 cm long. Rachis 40-70 cm long, terete, linear, green in mature leaves, with prickles. Leaflets 8-18 pairs, opposite to subopposite, insertion in one plane, oblong, in general longitudinally planar, not basally falcate, coriaceous, flat, green with adaxial side glabrous and abaxial side glaucous, distal end with entire margins, acuminate and asymmetrical at the apex, attenuate at base, with prominent and light-green veins; median leaflets 12-22 × 2.5-6 cm, 1.6-5 cm between leaflets; articulations 0.4-1.1 cm wide, green. Pollen strobili 15-18 cm long, 2.5-3.2 cm in diameter, solitary, cylindrical, erect, yellowish green at emergence, yellowish cream with blackish trichomes at maturity; peduncle 6-23 cm long, 1.6-2.2 cm in diameter, tomentose, brown; microsporophylls 0.8-1.2 × 0.72-1.0 cm, discoid with a non-recurved distal face and a lobate fertile portion, infertile portion 0.28-0.35 cm long and orbicular with straight horns 0.11-0.18 cm long, 0.50-0.68 cm and an acute angle between the horns. Ovulate strobili 13.5-18 cm long, 6-10 cm in diameter, solitary, cylindrical, erect, green at emergence, dark green with abundant blackish trichomes at maturity, acuminate apex; peduncle 3-8 cm long, 1.0-2.2 cm in diameter, erect, tomentose, brown; megasporophylls 54-99, 9-10 orthostichies with 6-9 sporophylls per orthostichy, 1.4-1.8 × 1.8-2.0 cm, with a truncate distal face, horns straight and 0.40-0.56 cm long, 1.0-1.60 cm between the horns with an acute angle between the horns. Seeds 1.1-1.5 cm long, 1.0-1.2 cm in diameter, ovate, sarcotesta light brown at maturity.

Distribution and habitat.

Ceratozamia huastecorum is endemic to the Sierra de Otontepec in the northwest of Veracruz State, Mexico (Fig. 19A ) where it occurs in cloud forest on clay soils with rocky outcrops at 800 to 1,300 m.

Etymology.

The specific epithet commemorates the Huasteca region, where this species is found; this region has cultural importance in Veracruz, Mexico.

Common names.

Mexico. Veracruz: Palmilla ( Bonta et al. 2019).

Uses.

None recorded.

Conservation status.

( IUCN 2021). Ceratozamia huastecorum is currently listed as "Critically Endangered" under criteria B2ab(iii,v).

Discussion.

Ceratozamia huastecorum has a close morphological similarity to C. latifolia . However, C. huastecorum has light-green emergent leaves and coriaceous leaflets, whereas in C. latifolia the leaflets are reddish brown at emergence and papyraceous. In addition, the ovulate strobili are larger than C. latifolia , with 9 to 10 orthostichies as compared to C. latifolia with 4-7 orthostichies.

Specimens examined.

Mexico. Veracruz: Mun. Tepetzintla , 1,250 m, 26 Aug 1981, G. Castillo-Campos & A. Benavides M. 2215 (XAL); 1,200 m, 27 Aug 1981, G. Castillo-Campos & A. Benavides M. 2232, 2244 (XAL); 820 m, 14 Dec 1981, G. Castillo-Campos 2480, 2481, 2482 (XAL); 850 m, 10 Jan 1986, G. Castillo-Campos 4472 (XAL); 20 Sep 1989, P. Zamora C. et al. 1197 ( CH, MEXU, XAL) ; 21 Sep 1989, P. Zamora et al. 1249 (MEXU, XAL).

Figures

Figure 15. Plants of Ceratozamia in habitat A C. alvarezii B C. aurantiaca C C. becerrae D C. brevifrons E C. chamberlainii F C. chimalapensis G C. decumbens H C. delucana I C. euryphyllidia J C. fuscoviridis K C. hondurensis L C. huastecorum.

Figure 19. Distribution of Ceratozamia species A C. huastecorum B C. kuesteriana C C. latifolia D C. leptoceras.