Zamia nesophila

The largest subpopulation of Zamia nesophila occurs just above the high tide line along two white sand beaches each stretching for c. 0.8 km on the windward side of one of the islands of the Bocas del Toro Archipelago. The presence of so many small plants can be attributed to repeated cutting and removal of trunks for ‘medicinal’ purposes. Prior to October 2007, the largest subpopulation consisted of perhaps as many as 15,000 plants growing in a dense stand as the dominant understorey species. However, a developer has since begun clearing plots along the beach and has already destroyed 80–90% of the plants there. At least one other subpopulation (located on the same island as the first) was once thought to have been quite large, possibly numbering in the tens of thousands. The vast majority of the latter plants were eradicated a few years ago using herbicides and other methods during the construction of a beach resort. Seedling recruitment was once high in the largest population, but it is now unknown if it will ever recover. Other subpopulations are represented by only a few sparse individuals and others have been nearly or completely destroyed by clearing to build seaside homes. Recruitment is limited to non-existent in these smaller populations (Taylor et al. 2008).