Ponytail Palm Name
When growing in its native environment in central america it can reach 30 feet tall but it remains much shorter in containers.
Ponytail palm name. Also known as elephant s foot tree ponytail palm is not a palm at all. This succulent plant sort of resembles a palm with its long leaves on a single stem. Despite its name and palm like appearance the ponytail palm is not a true palm. It s called a ponytail palm but isn t really a palm.
A ponytail palm is also known as an elephant s foot a ponytail. From the top of the stem one or more rosettes of long green leathery leaves develop as the plant ages. Ponytail palms are a popular houseplant which is in fact not palms at all. The ponytail palm belongs to the family asparagaceae a family of flowering plants and it is one of at least nine.
It has become popular in europe and worldwide as an ornamental plant. They are large succulents which house water in the bulbous base of their trunks from which long luscious curled foliage grows in the style of a ponytail giving this plant its common name. The base is topped with cascading ribbon like leaves that can grow 6 feet long and only an inch wide hence the name ponytail ponytails are an armchair gardener s dream they thrive on. Beaucarnea recurvata the elephant s foot or ponytail palm is a species of plant in the family asparagaceae native to the states of tamaulipas veracruz and san luis potosà in eastern mexico.
In fact it is more closely related to desert plants in the agave and yucca genera e g joshua trees. Its enlarged base gives rise to its other common name of elephant s foot tree. The ponytail is sometimes called elephant foot tree the swollen gray base looks like an elephant s foot. It is a succulent plant that is mistaken for a palm due to its single leafless trunk and the mass of leaves that emerges from the top of the plant.
Plant ponytail palms in clusters or alone for use as houseplants container plants shade gardens courtyards or atriums. The typical ponytail palm consists of a large domed stump which tapers off into a thinner stem. Ponytail palm ponytail palms are evergreen plants that are native to specific eastern areas of america s mexico. Despite its common name it is not closely related to the true palms arecaceae.