In Search of the Giant Spinulosae
by Dutch Vandervort

At about the turn of the last century, Edward L. Doheny, Los Angeles oil baron, later implicated in the Elk Hills portion of the Teapot Dome scandal of the Harding administration, organized an oil, mineral and general exploratory expedition to Mexico. Among the items found were two adult Dioon spinulosum plants. These plants were relocated to a magnificent conservatory in what is now downtown Los Angeles.

A friend of mine, Bill Paylen, saw the plants there in about 1950. Shortly afterwards the conservatory was demolished and the plants were sold to a West Los Angeles nurseryman Caspar Buergie who moved the plants to his nursery near the corner of Ohio Ave. and Sepulveda Blvd., near UCLA. According to Bill, the dioons, now over 25 feet tall lived in 48" boxes until Buergie died and his wife donated them to the LA Park Department and they were taken to Rustic Canyon Park and planted in a eucalyptus grove. Rustic Canyon is near the border of Santa Monica and the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles.

The trees do not seem to receive a lot of attention. Fortunately they do not seem to be in any distress. They are about 30 feet tall. They are nearly 18 inches in diameter at chest height. They have healthy crowns of leaves. There are scars on the trunks which indicate fallen branches, and there is a small branch on one of the trunks now. They do not seem to be receiving supplementary water or feeding. Rainfall in the park would average about 15 inches per year; mostly between late October and March.

Any cycad fan visiting Los Angeles needs to make the pilgrimage to Rustic Canyon to see these magnificent plants. Access to the park is via Pacific Coast Highway to West Channel Drive to a left turn onto Mesa. Proceed about a mile to a fork in the road (Latimer Road & Upper Mesa) and make a left onto Latimer Road. Proceed 2 blocks past a one lane section and you'll see a sign that reads "Uplifter's Ranch." Turn left into the Rustic Canyon Park parking lot. The trees are directly across the lawn from the Park Building. If you were not looking for some of the greatest tall cycads in the world you might mistake them for Washingonia robusta palm trees!

For further information on E.L. Doheny check out http://www.socalhistory.org/Biographies/doheny.htm 

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