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Dioon edule (Mexican Cycad) - This is a slow growing cycad with very old plants reaching 8 feet in height with a 6-foot spread but is more commonly seen in cultivation with up to a three feet tall trunk. It has 18 inch to 4 foot long feathery frond-like foliage with new growth having leaflets a soft blue-gray color and maturing to stiff and shiny green - a distinguishing characteristic with this species is the lack of any spines on the leaf margins. As with all cycads it is dioecious, with male and female cones produced at maturity on separate plants.
It does its best in part sun. Water infrequently, occasionally to regularly. It is hardy to at least 18 degrees F. An attractive plant that is useful in the dry garden.
Dioon edule is native to the east coast in the Sierra Madre Oriental in the Mexican state of Veracruz south to Nuevo Leon. The genus name means "two-egged", referring to the two ovules. The specific epithet means edible and while most parts of this plant are considered poisonous, the seeds can eaten after being properly prepared to remove. Other common names for this plant include Palma de la Virgen and Chestnut Dioon.
We sold this plant at our nursery from 1995 until 2005. Our plants were grown on from 40 specimen plants that we purchased in 1994 from La Sumida Nursery, a retail nursery in Santa Barbara. The plants we purchased were then in very old and broken 20 inch boxes that had been growing in the La Sumida Nursery growing grounds since the early 1960s. Though these plants rarely sold in the nursery when put on display, each year one was given to Madam Ganna Walska as a Christmas gift and now are part of the Mexican cycad collection in the Lotusland Cycad Garden.
The information displayed on this page about Dioon edule is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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