Ceratozamia totonacorum is named for the local people where it occurs in Puebla, Mexico. This plant was discovered in the search for a notorious plant with the moniker ‘Redback’. Plants live on incredibly steep slopes, so steep it’s nearly impossible to stand. A shallow layer of rich humus covered the weathered soil. Leaves exceeded 2 meters in length and hung. The leaflets were dark green on top and prominently reddish underneath.
Ceratozamia totonacorum
Ceratozamia totanacorum
Additional History of the origin of Ceratozamia totonacorum
Jeff Chemnick studied cultivated plants and wanted to find the population in the habitat. He looked at vouchers in various herbaria and noticed the absence of Ceratozamia vouchers from the state of Puebla while many have been collected north and south of Puebla. In visiting the area he found suitable habitat and discovered this plant. It looks very similar to a robust Ceratozamia fuscoviridis. In fact, the Veracruz botanist Mario Vazquez Torres visited the plants and decided they were not a unique species. Jeff presented his fieldwork and study at the conference on cycad biology in Colombia. Apparently, his work was noticed and a new species has been accepted.
More Photos of the Ceratozamia totonacorum
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Additional Resources
- Chip Jones
- (954) 296-2019
- Chipjones14@hotmail.com
- Open by appointment
- 9357 State Road 80
- Moore Haven, Fl 33471