giant dioon

The spiny-leaved slow-growing giant dioon (Dioon spinulosum) may attain a height of 15 metres (about 50 feet). It is a popular houseplant and is grown outdoors as an ornamental in warmer climates. Starch like that of arrowroot is obtained from the seeds of the chestnut dioon (D. edule).

4 inch) wide, but Dioon spinulosum has an exceptional amount of wood, in some specimens up to 10 cm (4 inches) wide. This may constitute evidence of the primitive nature of the genus, because seed ferns also generally had stems with considerably more wood than those of most living…