This species of Cycad has left fossils up to about 170 million years ago. It is native to the limestone cliffs and rocky hillsides of the tropical rain forests of Veracruz & Oaxaca, Mexico. It is one of the tallest cycads left in the world to about 36 feet high. Its huge, compound, palm-like leaves have 120 to 240 leaflets armed with small marginal teeth. The female plants bear huge cones to 30 inches long and weighing up to 30 pounds, and contain up to about 300 seeds that are dispersed when the cones burst open. The plant can tolerate temperatures down to 28 degrees Fahrenheit. The tree lives several hundred years. It is easy to grow in tropical landscapes and likes full sun to part-shade and moist, well-drained soils. Even though they look like palm trees, Cycads are more closely related to Conifers by their cone reproductive structures. I saw some of this species planted at Flamingo Gardens in Davie, Florida west of Fort Lauderdale in Zone 10b.

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