Macrozamia riedlei
| Macrozamia riedlei | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Cycadophyta |
| Class: | Cycadopsida |
| Order: | Cycadales |
| Family: | Zamiaceae |
| Genus: | Macrozamia |
| Species: | M. riedlei |
| Binomial name | |
| Macrozamia riedlei (Gaudich.) C.A.Gardner | |
Macrozamia riedlei, commonly known as zamia or zamia palm, is a species of plant in the Zamiaceae family. Found on lateritic soils and in Jarrah forests, it is endemic to Western Australia. The nuts from this plant have been successfully used as food by Indigenous Australians - however eaten raw by European explorers incurred poisoning:-
- Reported cases of poisoning from this cycad are perhaps the earliest for any local plant. Macrozamia riedlei is mentioned as causing sickness in men eating the seeds by Vlaming in 1697, La Perouse in 1788, Flinders in 1801, and Sir George Grey in 1839. (Gardner and Bennetts p.5.)
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Macrozamia riedlei. |
References
Gardner, C.A. and Bennetts, H.W. (1956) The Toxic Plants of Western Australia Perth, West Australian Newspapers.
External links
- Hill, K.D. 2003. Macrozamia riedlei. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 22 August 2007.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, July 30, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.