Zamioculcas | |
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A cultivated specimen | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Alismatales |
Family: | Araceae |
Subfamily: | Zamioculcadoideae |
Genus: | Zamioculcas Schott |
Species: | Z. zamiifolia
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Binomial name | |
Zamioculcas zamiifolia (Lodd.) Engl.[1]
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Zamioculcas is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, containing the single species Zamioculcas zamiifolia. [2] It is a tropical herbaceous perennial plant, native to eastern Africa including Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.[2] Common names include Zanzibar gem, ZZ plant, Zuzu plant, aroid palm, eternity plant and emerald palm.[3] It is grown as a houseplant mainly for its attractive glossy foliage and easy care. Zamioculcas zamiifolia is winter hardy to USDA Zones 9–10.[4]
Dutch nurseries started wide-scale, commercial propagation of the plant around 1996.[5] It was first described as Caladium zamiifolium by Loddiges in 1829, but moved to the genus Zamioculcas by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott and given its established name, Zamioculcas zamiifolia, by Adolf Engler.