zamia (redirected from zamia fern)

za·mi·a  (zm-)

n.

Any of various chiefly tropical American cycads of the genus Zamia, having a thick, usually underground trunk, palmlike terminal leaves, and seeds borne in woody cones.

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[New Latin Zamia, genus name, from misreading of (ncs) azniae, pine cone (nuts), probably from Greek azainein, to dry up, from azein, to dry; see as- in Indo-European roots.]

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zamia [ˈzeɪmɪə]

n

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Plants) any cycadaceous plant of the genus Zamia, of tropical and subtropical America, having a short thick trunk, palmlike leaves, and short stout cones

[from New Latin, from Latin zamiae, erroneous reading of phrase nucēs azāniae pine cones, probably from Greek azainein to dry up]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

zamia - any of various cycads of the genus Zamia; among the smallest and most verdant cycads cycad - any tropical gymnosperm of the order Cycadales; having unbranched stems with a crown of fernlike leaves genus Zamia - genus of small evergreen tropical and subtropical American cycads coontie, Florida arrowroot, Seminole bread, Zamia pumila - small tough woody zamia of Florida and West Indies and Cuba; roots and half-buried stems yield an arrowroot