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Species library › Zamia › Zamia pumila
Other Partly documented

Zamia pumila

A small, mostly underground-stemmed cycad of the Greater Antilles, recorded chiefly in lowland Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. It lives in hot, humid coastal and limestone scrub and dry forest, and in cultivation wants warmth year-round, bright light and a sharply draining mineral mix.

Zamia pumila
Photo: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Lowland dry to semi-evergreen forest, thickets and coastal scrub, often on limestone or sandy soils, growing as a terrestrial cycad with a subterranean caudex and a crown of stiff pinnate leaves.

Recorded at 30–100 m in the few records with elevations; essentially a near-sea-level plant.

CubaDominican RepublicJamaicaPuerto Rico

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its Public domain licence, unmodified.