za·mi·a 
(zāmē-ə)
(zāmē-ə)n.
Any of various chiefly tropical American cycads of the genus Zamia, having a thick, usually underground stem, palmlike terminal leaves, and seeds borne in woody cones.
[New Latin Zamia, genus name, from misreading of (nūcēs) azāniae, pine cone (nuts), probably from Greek azainein, to dry up, from azein, to dry; see as- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]