Palma Corcho

Mesmerised by beauty

When Friedrich Miquel – the director of the Amsterdam Botanic Garden in the 19^th century – first saw this cycad in 1851, he was mesmerised by its beauty: “Espèce très distincte, l’une des plus belles du genre”. He assumed that the plant belonged to the genus Zamia and gave it the name Zamia calocoma. The name calocoma comes from the Greek word calos (beauty) and come (crown of hair).

On further study, in 1861, he realised that it wasn’t a Zamia but a separate genus of cycads – Microcycas (small cycad). Characteristic for Microcycas is that all the leaflets are equally long giving it the appearance that the tops of all the leaves had been cut off.

Ecology and habitat

In the wild there are still about 300 – 500 plants in a small area in the mountains of west Cuba at an altitude of about 220 m, in the province of Pinar del Rio. The habitat includes the grass and bush covered slopes and ravines, often close to small streams. This species prefers dry, acidic, clay soils but also calcareous soils.

Threat

One species with a small number of individuals in a threatened area is in great danger of becoming extinct. In the wild Microcycas calocoma is now protected from collection and the population is stable. A number of botanical gardens and growers in Florida have cultivated numerous individuals and the seed has been spread to botanic gardens all over the world.