There are two subspecies of the Chestnut Dioon (Dioon edule) classified by location as one is found in a moister environment than the other. You can find it in oak woodlands or tropical deciduous forests. The last name “Dioon” means “two-egged.” The chestnut dioon is easy to grow and is drought and salt tolerant. This tree has a short, erect, and stocky trunk while the gray-green or blue-green leaves are sharp-tipped, lance-shaped and hairy, forming stiff, obliquely erect crowns. Like other cycads, it is palm-like and slow-growing with male and female trees producing cones. The seed cones resemble pineapple, are decorative, and can hold over 200 seeds.
Chestnut Dioons have an overall height between 5.9’-7.9’ (1.8-2.4 m) and diameter of 4.3’-10.8’ (1.3-3.3 m). The trunk of the Chestnut Dioon has a diameter of 5.9”-11.8” (15-30 cm) with leaf lengths between 27.5”-71” (70-180 cm).
There are two subspecies of the Chestnut Dioon (Dioon edule) classified by location as one is found in a moister environment than the other. You can find it in oak woodlands or tropical deciduous forests. The last name “Dioon” means “two-egged.” The chestnut dioon is easy to grow and is drought and salt tolerant. This tree has a short, erect, and stocky trunk while the gray-green or blue-green leaves are sharp-tipped, lance-shaped and hairy, forming stiff, obliquely erect crowns. Like other cycads, it is palm-like and slow-growing with male and female trees producing cones. The seed cones resemble pineapple, are decorative, and can hold over 200 seeds.
Chestnut Dioons have an overall height between 5.9’-7.9’ (1.8-2.4 m) and diameter of 4.3’-10.8’ (1.3-3.3 m). The trunk of the Chestnut Dioon has a diameter of 5.9”-11.8” (15-30 cm) with leaf lengths between 27.5”-71” (70-180 cm).
