Dioon merolae

Dioon merolae is a species of cycad that is native to Chiapas and Oaxaca, Mexico. It is known from the municipalities of Cintalapa and Villaflores in Chiapas, and from the Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca.

Mutualism

The beetle Pharaxonotha occidentalis is in an obligatory mutualistic relationship with Dioon merolae, living and breeding in male cones and consuming pollen and cone tissues while serving as a pollinating vector by transferring pollen to female cones.