Species profile—Macrozamia occidua

Classification

Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Zamiaceae → Macrozamia occidua

Species details

Kingdom

Plantae (plants)

Class

Equisetopsida (land plants)

Family

Zamiaceae

Scientific name

Macrozamia occidua D.L.Jones & P.I.Forst.

WildNet taxon ID

6483

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, three sheets plus carpological

Description

Macrozamia occidua is a small cycad with a non-branching underground stem 10-20 cm diameter and a crown of 1-5 erect leaves 40-75cm long. Each leaf has 80-120 leaflets arranged on a spirally twisted (2-4 times) rhachis (central stalk). The leaflets are 6-20cm long, 3-10mm wide, dark green and dull above and grey-green below, the apex sometimes with 2 or 3 teeth, the base a greenish-yellow to yellow, rarely pink callous.
The male and female cones occur on separate plants. The male cones are cylindrical, 10-24cm long and 3.5-5cm in diameter. The female cones are ovoid (egg-shaped), 10-14cm long and 5-7cm in diameter. The seeds are ovoid (egg-shaped), 18-25mm long and 15-20mm wide, orange to red when ripe.
Macrozamia occidua is similar to M. cranei but can be distinguished by the shorter, dull leaflets. (Jones & Forster 1994; Hill 1998; DEWHA 2008)

Map

View Map

Habitat

Macrozamia occidua occurs on slopes in dry woodland and open forest, between the altitudes of 800-1000m above sea level. It grows on skeletal sandy soils and granite. (DEWHA 2008)

Behaviour

Young seedlings and surface seed are killed by fire. (DEWHA 2008)

Reproduction

Macrozamia occidua cones mature between September to January. The seeds become ripe between February and April. (Jones & Forster 1994)

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 occidua in Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra. Accessed 08/10/2008.
Herbrecs (2008). Macrozamia occidua, in BriMapper version 2.12. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 08/10/2008.
Hill, K.D. in McCarthy, P.M. (Ed) (1998). Flora of Australia 48: 656.
Jones, D.L. & Forster, P.I. (1994). Seven new species of Macrozamia section Parazamia (Miq.) Miq. (Zamiaceae section Parazamia) from Queensland. Austrobaileya 4(2): 278-279.

Profile author

Ailsa Holland (18/06/2009)

Other resources

• Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT)
• The Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH)
• Atlas of Living Australia

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=6483.

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