Zamioculcas is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, containing the single species Zamioculcas zamiifolia. It is a tropical herbaceous perennial plant, and is native to eastern Africa, including Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Its common names include Zanzibar gem, Zuzu plant, emerald palm, ZZ plant, aroid palm and eternity plant. It is commonly grown as a houseplant, mainly because it has attractive glossy foliage and is easy to care for. Zamioculcas zamiifolia is winter-hardy in USDA Zones 9 and 10.
Description Vegetative characteristics It is a terrestrial, succulent, slowly growing, poisonous, evergreen, rhizomatous, perennialZamioculcas zamiifolia. (n.d.). Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved January 4, 2026, from https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/19185/wd/details herb with erect, pinnately compound, 40–60 cm long leaves bearing 6–8 leaflet pairs. The petiole is thick. It has a large bulbous, fleshy, potato-like rhizome.Queensland Government. (n.d.). Zanzibar gem. Queensland Poisons Information Centre. Retrieved January 4, 2026, from https://www.poisonsinfo.health.qld.gov.au/plants-and-mushrooms/zanzibar-gem-zamioculcas-zamiifolia Generative characteristics The flowers are produced in a small, bright yellow to brown or bronze spadix long and wrapped in a yellow-green spathe. The whole inflorescence is partly hidden among the branch bases. Flowering is from midsummer to early autumn.
Chromosome count The chromosome count is 2n = 34.Marchant, C. J. (1973). Chromosome variation in Araceae: V. Acoreae to Lasieae. Kew Bulletin, 199-210.Vanzie-Canton, S. D., & Leonhardt, K. W. (2007, June). In vivo polyploidization of Zamioculcas zamiifolia. In VI International Symposium on New Floricultural Crops 813 (pp. 531-538).
Taxonomy It was first described as Caladium zamiifolium by Conrad Loddiges in 1829.Caladium zamiifolium G.Lodd. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved January 4, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/86441-1 It was placed into a new monotypic genus Zamioculcas as Zamioculcas zamiifolia by Adolf Engler in 1905.Zamioculcas zamiifolia (G.Lodd.) Engl. (n.d.). Plants of the World Online. Retrieved January 4, 2026, from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:89402-1 Etymology The genus Zamioculcas derives its name from the similarity of its foliage to that of the cycad genus Zamia and its kinship to the Araceae genus Colocasia, whose name comes from the word or (from an ancient Middle Eastern name), Arabic qolqas (, ), i.e. taro..
The species name zamiifolia means "leaves like Zamia" and is formed from the botanical name Zamia and the Latin word folium, leaf.
Distribution and habitat It is native to Kenya, South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal), Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
Conservation In South Africa, its national conservation status is least concern (LC).South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). (n.d.). Zamioculcas zamiifolia (Lodd.) Engl. SANBI Red List of South African Plants. Retrieved January 4, 2026, from https://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=3625-1
Cultivation
It is cultivated as a houseplant. Dutch nurseries began wide-scale commercial propagation of the plant around 1996. Cultivars
Zamioculcas zamiifolia 'HANSOTI13,' commercially known as 'Zenzi' Zamioculcas zamiifolia 'Dowon,' commercially known as 'Raven', is licensed by Costa Farms. Zamioculcas zamiifolia 'Super Nova' Zamioculcas zamiifolia 'Chameleon'
Temperature It may survive outdoors as long as the temperature does not fall below around ; though best growth is between while high temperatures give an increase in leaf production. In temperate regions, it is grown as a houseplant. Overwatering may destroy this plant through tuber rot. Bright, indirect light is best. Some sun will be tolerated.
Propagation Zamioculcas zamiifolia may be propagated by leaf cuttings: typically, the lower ends of detached leaves are inserted into a moist, gritty growing medium, and the pot is enclosed in a polythene bag. Though the leaves may well decay, succulent bulb-like structures should form in the bag, and these may be potted up to produce new plants. The process may take upwards of one year. The plant can also be propagated by division.
Light Due to its strong green leaves, it is especially suitable for open, bright rooms.L'Ami des Jardins (ed.): Climatic plants in the house: Healthy living with detoxifying houseplants . Bassermann Verlag, Munich 2012, , p. 20 When grown indoors, the plant prefers bright indirect light but will tolerate low light conditions. However, lower light is not optimal for an extended period of time. Insufficient amounts of sunlight can result in leaves lengthening and/or falling off, yellowing (chlorosis), and generally uneven or disproportionate growth as the plant stretches towards a light source. When grown outdoors, Zamioculcas zamiifolia prefers part shade to full shade.
Soil The substrate used must be well-drained and contain nutrients. It can be composed of a mixture of tanned ox manure, washed river sand and red earth (1:1:1). For indoor plants, use a well-drained potting soil mix.
Water Zamioculcas zamiifolia contains 91% water in the leaves, and 95% water in the petioles. It has an individual leaf longevity of at least six months, which may be the reason it can survive extremely well under interior low light levels for four months without water. Zamioculcas zamiifolia roots are rhizomatous and have the ability to store moisture, thus aiding the plants in their drought resistance. The plants like regular waterings, but the soil should be allowed to dry out between waterings.
Usage in traditional medicine Though little information is available, Z. zamiifolia is apparently used medicinally in the Mulanje District of Malawi and in the East Usambara mountains of Tanzania where juice from the leaves is used to treat earache.
In Tanzania, a poultice of bruised plant material from Z. zamiifolia is used as a treatment for the inflammatory condition known as "mshipa".
Roots from Z. zamiifolia are used as a local application to treat ulceration by the Sukuma people in north-western Tanzania.
Chemistry
Phytochemicals Several compounds have been isolated from Zamioculcas zamiifolia. The petioles contain rosmarinic acid, protocatechuic aldehyde, (E)-caffeic acid and (E)- and (Z)-caffeic acid methyl ester. The rare natural products (3R,4S,5S)-2,3,4,5-tetrahydroxytetrahydro-2 H-pyran-2-carboxylic acid and apigenin 6-C-(6″-(3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaroyl)-ß-glucopyranoside) occur in the leaves.
Toxicity Zamioculcas zamiifolia is part of the family Araceae, which is known to contain cyanogenic glycosides, calcium oxalates and perhaps alkaloids. A toxicological experiment using brine shrimp as a lethality assay did not indicate lethality to the shrimp.
Air purification A study demonstrated that, in a laboratory setting, the plant is able to remove volatile organic compounds in the following order of effectiveness: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene at a molar flux of around 0.01 mol/(m2 day). The study stated that any effectiveness on indoor environments is inconclusive.
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