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Zamioculcas zamiifolia (G.Lodd.) Engl.

ZZ plant

Native records: 6 botanical areas

Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, 3 more areas

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Natural distribution

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NativeIntroducedUncertain

Distribution is shown as WGSRPD Level 3 areas. It does not imply the species occurs throughout an entire area.

Last updated:

Distribution last verified:

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Photograph of Zamioculcas zamiifolia

An evergreen aroid, the only species of its genus, with glossy leathery pinnate leaves and a water-storing tuberous rhizome, native to the dry forests and grasslands of eastern Africa. Widely grown worldwide as a tough, shade-tolerant houseplant.

Description

An evergreen perennial with erect, pinnately compound leaves bearing 6-8 pairs of glossy leaflets on a thick fleshy rachis, arising from a large potato-like underground rhizome that stores water for dry periods. It flowers infrequently, producing a small spadix with a yellow-green spathe near the leaf bases. All parts contain calcium oxalate crystals and are irritant or toxic if eaten.

Habitat

Native to eastern and south-eastern Africa, from southern Kenya through Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It grows in humid to dry evergreen forest, Brachystegia (miombo) woodland, wooded grassland and bushland thicket, often on rocks or sandy ground, dying back in the dry season as a drought-deciduous geophyte.

Distribution areas

  • Kenya

    • KenyaNative

  • Malawi

    • MalawiNative

  • Mozambique

    • MozambiqueNative

  • South Africa

    • KwaZulu-NatalNative

  • Tanzania, United Republic of

    • TanzaniaNative

  • Zimbabwe

    • ZimbabweNative

Climate of the native range

The Köppen climate classes found in the areas this plant is recorded as native to. It does not mean an entire area has that climate.

  • Aw Tropical, savannah
  • BSh Arid, steppe, hot
  • Cwa Temperate, dry winter, hot summer
  • Cwb Temperate, dry winter, warm summer
  • Cfa Temperate, no dry season, hot summer
  • BWh Arid, desert, hot
  • Cfb Temperate, no dry season, warm summer

The same climate occurs in 164 areas worldwide, 158 of which have no record of this plant. See them on the map

A matching climate does not mean the plant can grow there. Range limits are also set by things other than climate — dispersal history, soils, competition. Source: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0 (observed period 1991–2020).

Recorded medicinal uses

The cited source records medicinal use of this plant. It is not an assessment of efficacy or safety.

  • Zamioculcas zamiifolia is recorded as used medicinally.

    Source location: p.22, left column, line 21

    World Checklist of Useful Plant Species · Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity (KNB) · CC BY 4.0 · source version: wcups-2020-62602715

    Open source

Other names

ZZ plant、Aroid palm、Emerald palm、Eternity plant、Zanzibar gem

Family
Araceae
Genus
Zamioculcas

Sources

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Kenya · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Mozambique · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Malawi · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Tanzania, United Republic of · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    South Africa · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Zimbabwe · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

Image information