Species · genus Zamia · Zamiaceae

Cardboard Palm

Zamia furfuracea L.f.

Also known as: Cardboard Cycad · Cycad

Growth habit

subshrub

Native range

Mexico Gulf

Reference · Z. furfuracea

Cultivars of Z. furfuracea

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under Z. furfuracea yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Zamia furfuracea is a slow-growing cycad native to the dry coastal scrub of Mexico's Gulf region, with a swollen underground stem that stores water and rots readily if kept wet. Plant it in a gritty, fast-draining mix and water deeply only once the top two inches have dried completely; it tolerates neglect far better than excess moisture. Give it bright light, tolerating some direct sun once acclimated, and avoid soggy soil at all costs.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 10-21d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 21 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

10–30 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, very well-draining sandy cactus mix

Propagation

Seed or removed offsets (slow)

Fertilizing

Dilute balanced feed a few times in spring and summer

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Does not flower — cycad; cones only rarely indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs & humans

Cycads (Zamiaceae) contain cycasin, a potent toxin causing liver failure; seeds are especially dangerous. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

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Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 10-21d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (family inference)

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Cardboard Palm yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.