''Zamia wallisii'' is a species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

in the Coontie Family (

Zamiaceae The Zamiaceae are a family of cycads that are superficially palm or fern-like. They are divided into two subfamilies with eight genera and about 150 species in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Australia and North and South America. ...

). It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. Its common name is ''chigua''.

History

''Zamia wallisii'' was described in 1875 by Alexander Braun from material collected by

Gustav Wallis Gustav Wallis (1 May 1830 – 20 June 1878) was a German plant collector who introduced over 1,000 plant species to Europe, many of which were named after him. He was particularly focused on orchid hunting during the Victorian orchid craze, but ...

in Colombia. The species was collected once again in 1888 by

Guillermo Kalbreyer Wilhelm (Guillermo) Kalbreyer (1847–1912) was a German plant collector who was sent by James Veitch & Sons of Chelsea, London to collect new plants in West Africa and South America. According to Hortus Veitchii, the Veitch family history: Guille ...

and then not seen again for 100 years. Both the Wallis and Kalbreyer collections were lost and no type specimen was extant resulting in some doubt about the existence of the species until its rediscovery in the 1980s, by Ian Sutherland Turner. Its most noteworthy feature is its leaflets, which are up to 23.5 inches (60 centimeters) long and eleven inches (26.5 centimeters) wide, the largest of any gymnosperm.

Conservation

There is only one known population of this plant, comprising fewer than 50 individuals. It is located in habitat that is being consumed by

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

. Plants are found near the town of Frontino,

Antioquia Department ) , anthem = Himno de Antioquia , image_map = Antioquia in Colombia (mainland).svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Antioquia shown in red , image_ma ...

, and also near

Urrao Urrao is a town and municipality of Colombia, located in the subregion southwest of the department of Antioquia. Limited by the north with the municipalities of Frontino and Abriaquí, in the east with the municipalities of Abriaquí, Caic ...

, and in Las Orquideas National Park.

References

wallisii Endemic flora of Colombia Veitch Nurseries Critically endangered plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Cycad-stub