General Plant Information (Edit)
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Dry Mesic
Soil pH Preferences: Neutral (6.6 – 7.3)
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 9b -3.9 °C (25 °F) to -1.1 °C (30 °F)
Plant Height: 30 to 36 inches (75-90 cm)
Plant Spread: 4 to 6 feet (1.2-1.8 m)
Leaves: Evergreen
Other: When grown in full sun, leaves will have an erect growth habit, when grown in shade the growth habit will be horizantal.
Fruit: Showy
Other: Rusty brown cone containing bright red seeds.
Suitable Locations: Houseplant
Uses: Suitable as Annual
Resistances: Humidity tolerant
Drought tolerant
Salt tolerant
Toxicity: Leaves are poisonous
Roots are poisonous
Fruit is poisonous
Other: All parts of the plant contain toxins; seeds are highly toxic.
Propagation: Other methods: Other: Suckers
Containers: Suitable in 3 gallon or larger
Needs excellent drainage in pots
Miscellaneous: Tolerates poor soil
Dioecious
Conservation status: Endangered (EN)

Conservation status:
Conservation status: Endangered
Image
Common names
  • Cardboard Palm
  • The Green Plant of Mystery
  • Cycad
Also sold as:
  • Zamia maritima

Photo Gallery
Location: my garden, Florida
Date: 2019-02-10
Location: Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida
Date: 2022-02-14
the female cone bearing big red seed
Location: Macleay Island, Queensland, Australia
Date: 2014-04-29
Location: Magic Kingdom, Orlando, FL
Date: 2014-11-21
Photo by sedumzz
Location: San Diego, Ca.
Date: 2015-01-12
Location: San Diego, Ca.
Date: 2015-01-12
Photo by sedumzz
Location: Miami, FL
Date: 2014-01
potted plant dropping mature seeds
Location: Orlando, Central Florida, zone 9b
Date: 2009-01-08
seed pod of Cardboard Palm
Location: Utrecht Botanical Garden
Date: 2022-10-09
Location: Southwest Florida
Date: July 2012
Location: Parchur, Andhra Pradesh, India
Date: 2018-01-17
Location: Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida
Date: 2022-02-14
a specimen planted in a motel landscape
Location: In the Myriad Garden Crystal Bridge in Oklahoma City
Date: 2006-09-06
Zamia furfuracea [Cardboard Palm]
Location: Utrecht Botanical Garden
Location: Sanford, FL
Date: 2021-05-30
Location: Giant Food, Falls Church, VA
Date: Feb 1, 2019
Location: Giant Food, Falls Church, VA
Date: Feb 1, 2019
Location: Giant Food, Falls Church, VA
I have since purchased it.
Location: Miami, FL
Date: 2016-02
ripe seed spilling from the cone
Location: Magic Kingdom, Orlando, FL
Date: 2014-11-21
Location: Southwest Florida
Date: January 2016
Picture courtesy of Paul Osborn
Photo by hlutzow
Photo by tarev
Location: In the Myriad Garden Crystal Bridge in Oklahoma City
Date: 2006-09-06
Zamia furfuracea [Cardboard Palm]
Location: Cypress Gardens, Florida
Location: Hortus Botanicus Leiden
Date: 2022-03-26
Location: Michigan
Date: 2016-11-15
Being kept indoor as a house plant
Photo by hawkarica
Location: Miami, FL
Date: 2014-01
Sidewalk planting - very mature. Grows under Royal Poinciana tree
Location: Miami, FL
Date: 2014-01
ripe cone dropping the seeds
Location: At our garden - San Joaquin County, CA
Date: July 2014 - Summer
Formation of new leaves for Zamia furfuracea
Location: In our garden - San Joaquin County, CA
Date: 2014-03-24
Found my favorite cardboard palm!
Location: Reynolda Gardens greenhouse, Winston-Salem NC
Date: 2016-05-20
Big specimen is one of the anchoring plants in their collection,
Location: Cypress Gardens, Florida
Location: In my garden - San Joaquin County, CA
Date: 2016-01-04 - Winter
Photo update of my Zamia furfuracea during our El Nino winter wea
Location: Orlando, Central Florida, zone 9b
Date: 2012-02-05
Cardboard Palm
Location: Oviedo, Florida, United States
Date: 2019-12-30
Location: Botanical Garden Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
photo credit: H. Zell
Location: Michigan
Date: 2016-11-15
Location: Michigan
Date: 2016-11-15
Location: Central Texas
Date: 2014
Location: my garden, Florida
Date: 2018-07-04
Location: Missouri Botanical Garden, St Louis
Date: 2018-03-31
Photo by sedumzz
Photo by sedumzz
Location: Parchur, Andhra Pradesh, India
Date: 2/19/2016 12:59 PM
Location: Jersey City, NJ
Date: 2014-10-02
seed took 4mo to sprout; seedling is 2.5 mo old
Photo by sedumzz
Location: Greenwell Springs, La. 
Date: 2011-10-02
Location: At our garden - San Joaquin County, CA
Date: 2014-07-22
Young leaf with felt-like texture of the Zamia furfuracea
Location: Botanical Garden Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
photo credit: H. Zell
Location: San Diego Botanic Garden
Date: 2011-10-31

photo credit: tato grasso
Location: MOBOT -   St Louis
Date: 2013-02-27
Location: Botanical Garden Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
photo credit: H. Zell
This plant is tagged in:
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Comments:
  • Posted by ILPARW (southeast Pennsylvania - Zone 6b) on Mar 4, 2022 7:54 AM concerning plant:
    I was staying at a really cool motel of 1960's style in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in southern Florida in February of 2022 where the owners really enjoyed gardening-landscaping, having quite a variety of tropical plants in Zone 10. One shrub happened to be this Cycad species that is called a Cardboard Palm that, of course, is not really a palm. I had to research to find out what the plant species was. The owners of the motel must have really liked this shrub because they had it planted in many spots, and most were female plants bearing the red seed. This species is native to southeastern Veracruz state in southeastern Mexico growing on coastal mountains and sea cliffs. It seems to be the most rigid and stiff plant that I have ever seen. The slightly arching fronds bear up to 13 pairs of opposite leaflets that are wide, leathery, and thick. Because the leaves have a scurfy or mealy feel like cardboard, the common name reflects that. It likes full sun to part-shade and a well-drained soil. It needs a dry dormant period during the winter, and southern Florida does have a dry season in the winter.
Plant Events from our members
skylark On April 23, 2016 Seeds germinated
new seeds from jan harvest germinated
hlutzow On July 24, 2020 Obtained plant
seedlings
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