Etymology: Honoring Eizi Matuda, first collector of this species. Historical notes: Named in 1939 by American botanist ___ Lundell. Distinguishing features: The narrow leaflets and densely prickly petioles distinguish this species. Distribution and habitat: Chiapas and Oaxaca in southern Mexico, extending a short way into western Guatemala. Sporadically distributed in evergreen cloud forest at about 1000 m altitude. Conservation status: Rare. 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants category R. Description:
Plants acaulescent; stem 50 cm long, stem 20 cm diam. Leaves 5-15 in crown. New growth emerging bronze, red or chocolate brown. Leaves yellow green or light or bright green, highly glossy, 70-120 cm long, flat (not keeled) in section, with 46-88 leaflets; vernation straight; rachis not or slightly spirally twisted; petiole 20-35 cm long, armed with prickles. Leaflets not clustered, linear or lanceolate, symmetric, broadest below middle, falcate, weakly discolorous, thick or leathery; margins flat; median leaflets 20-40 cm long, 6-15 mm wide. Pollen cones yellow-green, fusiform-cylindrical, 8-16 cm long, 3-4.5 cm diam.; peduncle 11 cm long; microsporophyll lamina 9-11 mm long, 7-8 mm wide. Seed cones yellow-green, ovoid-cylindrical, 12-15 cm long, 8-9 cm diam.; peduncle 22 cm long. Seeds ovoid, 25-30 mm long, 20-23 mm wide; sarcotesta white, aging to
brown.
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