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Species profile—Macrozamia machinii

Classification

Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → ZamiaceaeMacrozamia machinii

Photo of Macrozamia machinii () - Forster, P.,Queensland Herbarium, DES (Licence: CC BY NC)
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Species details

Kingdom
Plantae (plants)
Class
Equisetopsida (land plants)
Family
Zamiaceae
Scientific name
Macrozamia machinii P.I.Forst. & D.L.Jones
WildNet taxon ID
6480
Alternate name(s)
Machin's macrozamia
Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
Vulnerable
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) status
Vulnerable
Conservation significant
Yes
Confidential
Yes
Endemicity
Native
Pest status
Nil
Short Notes
Gymnosperm, four sheets plus carpological
Description
Macrozamia machinii has a branched underground stem 20-30 cm in diameter, forming up to 10 crowns in a clump. The sparse to dense crown consists of 1-8 erect leaves 60-90cm long and hairless, except for wool at the base. Each leaf consists of 80-140 leaflets arranged on a dull green to yellow-green sprirally twisted (2-6 times) rhachis (central stalk). The thick, dull, dark green leaflets are 8-32cm long by 2.5-10mm wide and concave in cross-section. The leaflets are tapered to an asymmetrical tip and the leaflet bases are slightly thickened and yellow to orange or reddish.
The plants reproduce by cones which are somewhat pineapple-like in appearance. Male and female cones develop on separate plants. Male cones are more or less cylindrical and 8-20cm long by 4-6cm in diameter. Female cones are ovoid (egg-shaped) and 8-18cm long by 5-7cm in diameter. Seeds are oblong to egg-shaped, 2-2.5 cm long by 2-2.3cm in diameter, and orange to red when ripe.
Macrozamia machinii has been confused with M. plurinervia but differs from that species by the thicker leaflets which are dull green on both surfaces, the smaller cones and smaller seeds. They also occupy different habitats. (Jones & Forster 1994; Halford 1997; Hill 1998; DEWHA 2008)
Map
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Habitat
Macrozamia machinii occurs on flat plains an breakaways in deep sandy soils and in flat areas of open forest. (Halford 1997)
Behaviour
Pollination is by a species of Tranes weevil in an obligate mutualism. (Terry et al. 2005)
Reproduction
Mature cones have been recorded from September to December. Ripe seeds are present between February and April. Cones may not be annual when conditions are unfavourable. (Halford 1997)
Predators
All species of Macrozamia contain toxins which can cause debilitating symptoms or death if ingested in sufficient quantities. (Halford 1997)
Management documents
Conservation and management of protected plants in trade in Queensland 1995-1998. Department of Environment.
Notes
Contributors: Ailsa Holland, Mellisa Mayhew 18/06/2009
References
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (2008). Macrozamia plurinervia in Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra. Accessed 08/10/2008.
Halford, D. (1997). Macrozamia machinii, in Species Management Manual. Department of Natural Resources, Brisbane.
Herbrecs (2008). Macrozamia machinii, in BriMapper version 2.12. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 08/10/2008.
Hill, K.D. in McCarthy, P.M. (Ed) (1998). Flora of Australia 48: 655.
Jones, D.L. & Forster, P.I. (1994). Seven new species of Macrozamia section Parazamia (Miq.) Miq. (Zamiaceae section Parazamia) from Queensland. Austrobaileya 4(2): 276-278.
Terry, I., Walter, G.H.,Donaldson, J.D., Snow, E.L, Forster, P.I. & Machin, P.J. (2005). Pollination of Australian Macrozamia cycads (Zamiaceae): effectiveness and behaviour of specialist vectors in a dependent mutualism. Americal Journal of Botany 92: 931-940.
Profile author
Ailsa Holland (18/06/2009)

Other resources

Data source

This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species/?op=getspeciesbyid&taxonid=6480.

This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.

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Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Last updated
20 May 2024