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Dioon edule

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Photo by Eric Winegar.


The caudex by Egon Krogsgaard, Powo.science.kew.org.

Author: John Lindley, 1843
Family:  ZAMIACEAE
Origin:  NW Mexico
Soil:  Mix - Grit
Water:  Medium - Maximum
Sun:  Medium
Thickness:  30 Centimetres
Height:  3 Meters
Flower:  Cones: Light Brown
Propagate:  Seeds/Offsets
Names:  Virgin Palm, Chestnut Dioon, Mexican Cycad
Synonyms:  Dioon aculeatum, Lem.
Dioon edule f. lanuginosum,
J.Schust.
Dioon edule var. lanuginosum,
Wittm.
Dioon imbricatum,
Miq.
Dioon strobilaceum,
Lem.
Macrozamia littoralis,
Liebm. ex Dyer
Macrozamia pectinata,
Liebm. ex Dyer
Platyzamia rigida,
Zucc.
Zamia maelenii,
Miq.
Zamia rigida,
Karw. ex J.Schust.

This member of the
Zamiaceae family was described by John Lindley in 1843. It is found in the Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains, Mexico, where it grows in a well drained soil or grit wit quiet some water and just some sun. The stem will reach 30 centimetres in diameter and three meters in height. Both the male and the female cones are light brown, and besides seeds, this plant can be reproduced by offsets.

The genera name from the Greek dis 'twice' and oon 'egg'; refers to the paired seeds. The species name means 'edible'.