Halfmens (Pachypodium namaquanum): Bottle-Trunked Succulent Tree

Overview

Halfmens (Pachypodium namaquanum), also called Elephant's Trunk or Club Foot, is a bizarre, bottle-trunked succulent tree from the Richtersveld of South Africa and Namibia. The trunk is massively swollen, gray, and wrinkled, tapering to a crown of sparse, rosette-like leaves at the top—resembling a human half-buried (hence "Halfmens" = half-human). Spines are paired, stout, and curved. Tubular, yellow-green flowers with red throats appear in winter. Extremely slow-growing and long-lived. A legendary collector's plant for frost-free, arid gardens. Protected in the wild.

Key Features

• Trunk: Massive, swollen, bottle-shaped; gray, wrinkled; water storage.
• Leaves: Rosette at apex only; deciduous in drought.
• Spines: Paired, stout, curved; dense on upper trunk.
• Flowers: Tubular, yellow-green with red throat; winter.

Care Guidelines

Light

Full sun.

Water

Very low. Water sparingly when in leaf; bone dry when leafless.

Soil

Extremely well-drained, gritty, mineral.

Hardiness

USDA zones 10–11. Frost tender.

Taxonomy

Family:	Apocynaceae
Genus:	Pachypodium (pak-uh-PO-dee-um)
Species:	namaquanum (na-MAWK-wan-um)