Lepidozamia peroffskyana

Scaly Zamia

The cylindrical cones are some of the largest of all cycad cones, rivalled only by Encephalartos transvenosus.
The male cones can reach seventy five centimetres long and the female cones ninety centimetres, weighing up to forty five kilograms.
The seeds are large and numerous and have red sarcotesta
All parts of the plant, especially the seeds, are toxic to both livestock and humans
If ingested, the seeds can cause severe gastrointestinal irritation and abdominal cramps, vomiting and nausea, diarrhoea, and potentially also liver damage and muscular paralysis

Leaves:

The crown develops from numerous leaves up to 3 m long
Each bearing about two hundred narrow, glossy, dark green leaflets, somewhat lax, spreading and softly coriaceous
Each has seven to thirteen parallel veins which helps to distinguish this species from other members of the genus

Stem & branches:

The trunk is up to eighty centimetres in diameter
Is covered by the persistent remains of leaf bases forming an interesting texture

Roots:

Habit:

Habitat:

Grows in scattered small communities in wet sclerophyll forests or on rainforest margins
Usually on steep slopes from sea level up to about 1,000 m

Distribution:

Additional notes:

Cultivation
- It is slow-growing, low maintenance
- Long-lived cycad that makes a good feature plant in semi-shaded positions or in a container
- It grows up to 7 m tall but more usually reaches about 4 m

Sources of information:

Contents: