Ponytail Palm: Beaucarnea recurvata

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Point No. 1

Species: Beaucarnea recurvata Lemaire

Family: Asparagaceae

History at University of Pretoria

The Ponytail palm, also known as the bottle palm or elephant-foot tree, is a critically endangered plant in Mexico. 

Description

The so-called palm tree is one of 12 species in the Beaucarnea genus and is actually an evergreen perennial succulent that is considered an endangered and threatened species in its native country of Mexico state, more specifically, the central region of Veracruz, a semi-desert¹. These native populations are threatened by habitat destruction as a result of urban and agricultural expansion². However, globally this plant exists in countless millions due to its popularity in horticulture. Its distinctive architecture as well as its ability to be easily raised from a seed has resulted in the Ponytail palm becoming a valued ornamental plant found across the globe. However, due to its great value as an ornamental plant, it is exploited by means of illegal trade and sales resulting in great decline of wild populations in its natural habitat¹.

A mature Ponytail palm can grow a stem that expands up to 3 m in diameter at the base of the stem with multiple erect branches to form a tree up to 9 m in height. A tuft of leathery and curved leaves can be found at the end of each branch and becomes more dense as the tree ages where mature plants will form small white flowers on panicles that emerge from the tuft². The mature ponytail palm can be defined by a swollen stem at the base that tapers as the stem elongates with terminal branches³. In contrast, the Ponytail palm can be reduced in size and is cultivated and used as an ornamental pot plant as the tree retains the globular caudex form of an immature tree for a multitude of years before the stem elongates and branches off after the tree has flowered³. For example, a 15-year-old pot grown ponytail palm specimen was reported to have a size of 20-25 cm in basal diameter, as well as, 1 m tall³.

Figure 1 - Ponytail palm on University of Pretoria Hatfield Campus.

                                                                                                                                                          Figure 2 - Corky outer bark of Ponytail palm with swollen stem base on the pictured specimen.

Older trees have a thick and corky appearance on the outer bark that is defined by fissures with a rough texture to the bark ². The tree is adapted to dry climates by means of a swollen stem base to store water, as well as a cork bark that protects the tree and serves as an insulator². Typically, the leaves are used to make baskets.

Text prepared by Corleen van Aswegen and Sinead Wortley, 2022 BOT 366 class.

Cited sources:

¹ Osorio-Rosales, M.L. & Contreras Hernández, A. (2013). Environmental policy for sustainable development and biodiversity conservation: a case study involving the exploitation of Beaucarnea recurvata. 10.2495/978-1-84564-756-8/012.

² Sen, A., Miranda, I., Ferreira, J., Lourenco, A., Pereira, H. (2018). Chemical composition and cellular structure of ponytail palm (Beaucarnea recurvata) cork. 10.1016/j.indcrop.2018.08.057.

³ Walker, C.C. (2020). Beaucarnea RUSCACEAE. In: Eggli, U., Nyffeler, R. (eds) Monocotyledons. Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-56486-8_25

⁴ https://www.ukhouseplants.com/plants/pony-tail-palm-beaucarnia-recurvata (accessed on the 4th November 2022).

⁵ https://gardenerspath.com/plants/houseplants/ponytail-palm-bonsai/ (accessed on the 4th November 2022).