sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Although many of them have thorns, the Pachypodiums are more closely related to succulents than to cacti. They originate in Madagascar, and have similar care requirements to succulents and cacti. My evolving arthritis and recent knee replacement make yard work and major gardening very challenging, so I decided to focus on unusual small plants. Pachypodiums often have large woody feet - thus the name Pachypodium, or "elephant feet". Not all plants with such feet are Pachypodiums - the ponytail palm (not a palm) is sometimes called "elephant foot palm". Likewise, a Desert Rose has a large woody foot but is not a Pachypodium.

I was excited over the past two days to see the first bloom on my Pachypodium bispinale.

Pachypodium bispinale in bloom

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Closeup of flower

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Pachypodium horombense

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joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

Great set, Steve. The downloads of the flower and buds are beautiful. Thanks for sharing the story also.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Beautiful set, Steve!

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

Excellent shots, Steve. That is a really neat plant and the flowers are lovely. I have a Pony Tale Palm that is at least 6 ft. Tall. It really has a big foot!

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Our neighbors down the road have one in their front yard that must be 15 feet tall and about eight feet in diameter! It rarely freezes here, so they can get away with that! The neighborhood is only about 5 years old, so I wonder if they brought it with them and have had it for many years or if they bought it that large! It must be 40-50 years old! I will have to stop and ask them some day!