Beaucarnea Recurvata, Elephant-Foot Tree

Max Height: 4-8m Spread: 2-4m

Origin: Mexico Family: Agavaceae/Dracaenaceae

Common Name: Ponytail Palm, Bottle Palm, Nolina, Elephant-foot Tree Flower Colour: White

Drought Tolerance: High Salinity Tolerance: Medium

Sun Tolerance: High Wind Tolerance: High

Water Requirement: Low PH Level: Basic

Pest Tolerance: Medium Disease Tolerance: Medium

Growth Rate: Slow Fragrance: No

Beaucarnea recurvata is also known as Ponytail Palm, Bottle Palm, Nolina, Elephant-foot Tree. The ponytail is a weird palmlike succulent with a greatly expanded base and a single trunk with a rosette of long, straplike leaves that arch and droop. With age, the trunk eventually develops a few branches. Ponytail can get up to 30 ft (9.1 m) tall and the base up to 12 ft (3.7 m) across, but houseplants generally remain less than 6-8 ft (1.8-2.4 m) tall. The leaves are thin and flat, up to 6 ft (1.8 m) long and only 1 in (2.5 cm) wide. They are clustered in dense tufts at the ends of the branches and arch upward, then droop downward.

Oddly enough, a ponytail palm tree is neither a palm nor a tree. In fact, it is a member of the Agave family and is actually a succulent. In the past, it has been classified as either Nolina recurvata or Beaucarnea recurvata, but the latter is now the correct classification of this plant.

Beaucarnea recurvata, Bottle Palm, Elephant-foot Tree, Nolina, Ponytail Palm