Chigua

▪ plant genus

      small genus of cycads (cycad) in the family Zamiaceae. The two species in the genus are endemic to lowland rainforest habitats in Colombia. The genus is similar to the closely related Zamia, but Chigua differs in details of its cone morphology and in having leaflets with a well-defined midrib and branched secondary veins. Chigua plants have a short subterranean caudex and relatively few leaves. The microsporangiate and megasporangiate cones are stalked and have sporophylls arranged in vertical ranks, with more or less flattened, six-sided tips. Chigua is of interest as a relatively new cycad genera, having been recognized as distinct in 1990. Chigua plants have only rarely been encountered in nature, and their ecology and taxonomy are still not fully understood.

George Yatskievych

 

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