Zamia angustifolia

Zamia angustifolia Jacq.

Common Names: Eleuthera Coontie

Family: Zamiaceae

Habit: Zamia angustifolia grows from an underground vertical stem 20-50 in length and to 10 cm in diameter.  Leaves are produced from the top of the tuber.  The leaves are pinnately compound, to 1 meter in length and covered with rusty brown hairs when young.  The leaflets are narrow, to 25 cm (typically shorter) in length and to 0.5 cm in width, with a slightly toothed apex and an entire margin (occasionally irregular).

Zamia angustifolia is dioecious. The reproductive structures are cones. Microsporangiate cones are solitary or in groups, to 8 cm in length and 2 cm in diameter. There are 15 – 20 series of peltate hexagonal structures underneath which are the microsporagium.

The megasporangiate cones are solitary, to 13 cm in length and 4 cm in diameter.  There are 5-8 series of peltate hexagonal structures underneath each ovules are located. The entire structure is covered with reddish hairs.

Habitat: Zamia angustifolia grows coastal Dry Broadleaf Evergreen Formations- Shrublands/Dwarf Shrublands with an unconsolidated Holocene sand substrate and in Pine Woodlands.

Distribution: Zamia angustifolia is endemic to the Lucayan Archipelago and Cuba.  It is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN and as Appendix II by CITES.

Medicinal/Cultural/Economic usage: Zamia angustifolia is not known to be used medicinally or culturally in the Lucayan Archipelago but is now in the horticultural trade.