Beaucarnea recurvata
Ponytail palm · also Elephant's foot, Bottle palm, Stripy ponytail
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Beaucarnea recurvata, commonly known as ponytail palm, features a distinctive swollen trunk and long, drooping, strap-like leaves. Native to eastern Mexico, it thrives in desert or dry shrubland climates and is considered critically endangered by IUCN. Despite its common name, it is not a true palm but is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant.
Where it grows
Trees in each city's inventory, with the share of that city's named trees this species accounts for.
- 110.00%35 yr7.5 in
- 50.00%—4.3 in
- 40.00%—9.8 in
- 30.00%—4.0 in
- 10.00%——
Traits
- Form
- Palm
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Mature height
- 12–50 ft
- Canopy spread
- 6–15 ft
- Lifespan
- 350 years
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Drought tolerance
- High
- Blooms
- Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug
Trunk diameters across every city: median 5.1 in, mean 6.7 in, 90th percentile 14 in. Measured at breast height, as published by each inventory.
Native range
Terrestrial ecoregions where this species is native. Trees in the dataset mostly stand well outside it.
Tropical & Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests
- Veracruz dry forests