Dioon

Dioon is a genus of cycads in the family Zamiaceae. It is native to Mexico and Central America. Their habitats include tropical forests, pine-oak forest, and dry hillsides, canyons and coastal dunes.

Dioons are dioecious, palmlike shrubs with cylindrical stems, usually with many leaves. Leaf bases are persistent or shedding to leave smooth bark. The genus is commonly divided into two groups of distinct morphology. The first includes D. mejiae, D. rzedowskii, and D. spinulosum, which are characterized by the greater size of their fronds, trunks, and cones. The second group contains D. califanoi, D. caputoi, D. edule, D. holmgrenii, D. merolae, D. purpusii, D. sonorense, and D. tomasellii, which are smaller overall, with shorter trunks, much shorter fronds, and smaller cones.