Species profile

Accepted name
Zamioculcas zamiifolia (G.Lodd.) Engl. Species
Common names
Zanzibar gem, zeezee plant, ZZ Plant
Kingdom
Plantae
Division
Tracheophyta
Class
Liliopsida
Order
Alismatales
Family
Araceae
Genus
Zamioculcas
Distribution
Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; KwaZulu-Natal; Tanzania
Basionym
Caladium zamiifolium G.Lodd.
Published in
Pflanzenr., IV, 23B: 305 (1905)

Media and observations

Tuber subcylindric, ± 3-4 cm. in diameter or more, tough, woody. LEAVES: Petiole green with darker transverse blotches, 15-35 cm. long, 1-2 cm. in diameter near base; blade 20-40 cm. long; leaflets 4-8 per side, subopposite, distant, oblong-ovate to -elliptic to -obovate, sometimes oblanceolate, fleshy, dark glossy green, 5-15 cm. long, 1.5-5 cm. broad, shortly acuminate, sessile or shortly petiolulate, articulated to rhachis, cuneate to rounded basally; rhachis terete, marked like petiole. INFLORESCENCE: Peduncle 3-20 cm. long, 0.4-1 cm. in diameter, erect at first recurving strongly in fruit, pushing infructescence into ground-litter. Spathe 5-8 cm. long, coriaceous; tube shortly cylindric to ellipsoid, 1-1.5 cm. long, 1-2 cm. in diameter, green on outer surface; limb broadly oblong-ovate, 5-6 cm. long, 3.5-5.5 cm. broad, rounded and cuspidate at tip, pale green to whitish or yellow. Spadix 5-7 cm. long; staminate part cylindric to clavate, 4-5 cm. long, 1-1.5 cm. in diameter, narrowed at base; pistillate part shortly cylindric-ellipsoid, 1-2 cm. long, 0.7-1.7 cm. in diameter. Tepals white; stigmas yellowish. INFRUCTESCENCE: Berry white, surrounded by persistent tepals, with septal suture, up to 1.2 cm. broad, 1-2-seeded. Seeds brown, ellipsoid, ± 0.8 cm. long, 0.5 cm. broad. (CATE Araceae)

Humid to dry evergreen forest, Brachystegia woodland, dry wooded grassland, bushland thicket, often on rocks, locally abundant (CATE Araceae)

GBIF Secretariat (2023). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-10-05. Accessed via https://www.gbif.org/species/2869014 https://www.gbif.org/species/2869014 · Last updated Oct 5, 2026, 3:30 AM