Ceratozamia latifolia

Miq. (1848)

Common names

Costilla de león, palma imperial, piña del monte (Jones 1993), Mexican horncone.

Taxonomic notes

Syn: C. mexicana var. latifolia (Miq.) Schuster 1932 (Vovides et al. 1983). Although this species was described in 1848, none of the original type material could be located, so a new type was designated in 1986 from material collected in San Luis Potosí (Jones 1993).

Description

"A small cycad which in nature develops a slender, light brown trunk to about 20 cm tall and 10 cm across. Young leaves pale green to bronze, lightly hairy. Mature leaves two to four per plant, 0.5-1 m long, dark olive green, smooth, glabrous; petiole 15-20 cm long, swollen and woolly at the base, with very sparse prickles and appearing smooth; leaflets thirty to eighty on each leaf, 15-24 cm × 2-4 cm, broadly lanceolate, falcate, sessile,.not crowded, thin textured and papery, dark olive green and shiny above, brownish beneath, the margins slightly inrolled, apex acute. Male cones 15-17 cm × 2-2.3 cm, usually solitary, cylindrical, brown; sporophylls with two small horns; peduncle about 5 cm long, woolly. Female cones 5-6 cm × 44.5 cm, usually solitary, broadly cylindrical, greenish brown, woolly; sporophylls peltate, woolly on the edges, with two small horns. Seeds 1.8-1.9 cm × 1.4 cm, ovoid, smooth."

"It is closely related to C. hildae but can be distinguished by its leaflets being evenly arranged along the fronds. ... [R]arely some plants of C. latifolia may produce an occasional leaf which has clustered leaflets. (Jones 1993).

Distribution and Ecology

Mexico: San Luis Potosí and Hidalgo at elevations of about 850 m in cloud forests dominated by species of Quercus (Jones 1993).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2026-01-14.

Ethnobotany

Used as an ornamental (Jones 1993).

Observations

No data as of 2026-01-14.

Remarks

The epithet latifolia refers to the broad leaves.

Citations

Miquel, F. A. W. 1848. Tijdschr. Wis- Natuurk. Wetensch. Eerste Kl. Kon. Ned. Inst. Wetensch. 1(4):206.

See also