Dioon mejiae (Cycad)

Plants: These cycads are among the largest and most abundant in the world, reaching 24′ (7.3 m) in height, and 7–14″ (17–36 cm) around.

Leaves: The tree’s crown is topped by leaves emerging from the trunk center, 3–6½′ (1–2 m) long. Leaves have smooth edges.

Fruits: Male cones are spindle-shaped and pale brown, while female cones are large, ovoidal, acuminate, and greenish gray to pale brown. Cones are large, over 1′ (30 cm) long.

Habitats: Subtropical. An understory component of semi-deciduous tropical rain forest, found on steep slopes and in canyons, and also on flat terrain. Some populations thrive in sandy soil or sandy to clayey alluvial deposits, while others grow in loamy, limestone-derived soils; on in decomposed granite rich in humus. It occurs at elevations of 869–1640′ (265–500 m).

Edibility: Starch extracted from the seeds is a staple food. The seeds are not, until processed.

2/26/2010 · San Diego Zoo, San Diego, California · ≈ 4 × 5′ (1.3 × 1.6 m)

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Cycadophyta	All cycads—primitive palm-like plants
Class	Cycadopsida	Cycads
Order	Cycadales	Living cycads (most are extinct)
Family	Zamiaceae	Cycas that are superficially palm- or fernlike
Genus	Dioon	New Latin, from di- + -oön (from Greek ōion, ”egg”), for the two ovules produced in female cones
Species	mejiae	Honoring Dr. Isidoro Mejia H. (?–1950), physician in Danlí, El Paraíso, Honduras, from whose garden the type specimen was collected.

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Range: Zones 9b-12:

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