Zamioculcas zamiifolia

East African Origin and Cultivation History

Zamioculcas zamiifolia is native to eastern and southeastern Africa, from Kenya south through Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique to KwaZulu-Natal. It grows in seasonally dry tropical forest, bushland and rocky shaded places, surviving dry periods through substantial underground rhizomes and water-storing leaf stalks.

Zamioculcas contains a single species, Z. zamiifolia. The plant later entered international foliage production and became widely known as the ZZ plant.

Watering and rhizome care for a ZZ plant

Repotting, leaf care and feeding: Repot only when the rhizomes crowd or distort the container, keeping them near their former depth and handling the brittle roots carefully. Feed lightly while new shoots are actively rising and stop when growth pauses. Divide a multi-rhizome plant for the quickest propagation. Individual leaflets or petiole sections can also form new rhizomes, but they may take many months before producing a visible shoot.

Light, temperature and watering: Low light, cool temperatures and an oversized container make the pot dry much more slowly. Plant it in an airy, fast-draining mix and a pot only modestly larger than the rhizomes. After watering the entire root ball, allow the substrate to dry deeply before repeating. Drought is easier for the plant to survive than persistently wet, oxygen-poor mix around the roots, but months of extreme dryness eventually exhaust the stored reserves.

Light and humidity: Zamioculcas zamiifolia grows most strongly in bright filtered light, although it tolerates low light by slowing markedly. Introduce gentle direct sun gradually to avoid leaf scorch. Average household humidity is adequate because its thick petioles, leaflets and underground rhizomes store water.

Pest and Care Troubleshooting

Yellowing, collapsing leaf stalks and soft brown rhizomes in wet mix usually mean root or rhizome rot. Remove every soft section, let clean cut surfaces dry before repotting and place only firm material into a highly airy potting mix. Resume watering conservatively after the remaining roots begin to function.

Severe drought produces wrinkled leaf stalks or leaflets above a very dry pot while the rhizomes remain firm. Rehydrate the full root ball, drain completely and then return to a deep dry-down. Low light explains very slow growth and a long watering interval; it is not a reason to keep the root zone wet.

Scale and mealybugs hide on leaf stalks, leaflet undersides and near the potting mix. Cold injury appears as glassy-looking dark collapse. Thick glossy leaflets, swollen rhizomes and months without a new shoot can all be normal, as can isolated yellowing of an old leaflet. Propagation from a leaflet is naturally slow.

Zamioculcas zamiifolia is toxic to people and pets

• Keep this plant away from children, cats and dogs.
• Its leaves and stems contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which can irritate the mouth, throat, skin and eyes.
• Chewing may cause burning pain, drooling, swelling, vomiting or difficulty swallowing. Contact a veterinarian or medical professional after exposure, especially if swelling or breathing problems occur.

Where does the name Zamioculcas zamiifolia come from?

Zamioculcas combines the genus names Zamia and Colocasia. The epithet zamiifolia means having leaves like Zamia, referring to the resemblance of the compound foliage to that cycad genus.

Heinrich Wilhelm Schott established the genus Zamioculcas in 1856 in Synopsis Aroidearum, page 71.

George Loddiges first described it as Caladium zamiifolium in 1829 in The Botanical Cabinet, volume 15, plate 1408. Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler later placed it in Zamioculcas as Zamioculcas zamiifolia in 1905 in Das Pflanzenreich, IV, 23B, page 305.