Etymology: Zamia integrifolia is actually a double misnomer because 'integrifolia' literally means entire leaves but was intended to refer to the leaflets which are not entire but have small callous teeth in the upper fourth. Historical notes: Zamia integrifolia is more commonly labeled as Z. floridana in the older literature particularly that concerning anatomy, morphology and life cycles. This is mainly because the plants that were studied came from Florida. Distinguishing features: Leaflets with very small obscure callous bumps near the tips and unusually large seed cones for the stature of the plant. Distribution and habitat: Zamia integrifolia is known from extreme southeastern Georgia southward through peninsular Florida (including the Florida Keys) and sporadically in the Bahamas where it occurs on Andros, Grand Bahama, Great Abaco, Long, and New Providence Islands. It has been collected in western Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and south-central Puerto Rico where it may now be extinct. Habitats vary from open coastal areas and sand dunes to pinelands and closed canopy oak hammocks to tropical forest. This cycad is most commonly found in soil over limestone and in sand near sea level or in pinelands subjected to periodic wildfires. Conservation status: Zamia integrifolia is fairly common throughout its range except in south-central Puerto Rico where it is extinct as a result of over development early in the twentieth century. Not listed in the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants because it is not considered threatened.
Description:
Stems subterranean and tuberous, 3-10 [25] cm in diameter, often dichotomously branched, wrinkled. Cataphylls from 1-2 cm long, sheathing at first, with a pair of inconspicuous stipules. Leaves 2-15; petioles with stipules, smooth; rachis smooth, bearing 5-30 pairs of leaflets. Leaflets oblong, rounded apically, with 10-15 indistinct teeth in upper fourth, median ones 8-25 cm long and 0.5-2 cm wide. Pollen cones 1-30, pedunculate, dark reddish brown, cylindrical to ovoid-cylindrical, apex acute, 3-15 cm long and 0.8-2 cm in diameter. Seed cones 1-5, pedunculate, dark reddish brown sometimes becoming gray when mature, cylindrical to slightly ovoid with blunt or slightly acute apex, 6-15 cm long and 4-6 cm in diam. Seeds with a red to orange-red, ovoid, 1-2 cm long. 2n = 16
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