Beaucarnea recurvata - Ponytail Palm or Elephant's Foot Tree

Wow how amazing - that certainly makes it clear! This one must be quite old.

As soon as i saw the thumbnail i thought of elephants feet !!!
What an amazing tree.

Bernieh:

It's about 25 feet / 7.6 meters tall.

I can't even estimate how old this tree is...
it is pretty slow growing and live for many
centuries.

Louise1:

Yes, they are pretty amazing! Thanks.

What a wonderful tree ...

Amazing ......

fantastic looking

Stunning ! :o)
Definitely nominated for GoYpedia trees category !

Thanks!

Terratoonie, thanks for nominating it for GoYpedia trees. : > )

Wow!!! I've got 2 pony tail palm houseplants... is this what could be doing outside?!? I do like them indoors though :)

Tasteyg:

Yes, in many years. However, it does grow a little faster in the ground outside. In pots as a houseplant it can stay small for decades.

awesome..

Do these have the same shape base of trunk when they are young, or in pots ?

Terratoonie:

Yes, they have the same shape at the base in a pot...however, it's much smaller when young.

Baby elephants... Lol. :o)

Terratoonie:

Yes... : > )

I have posted a wider photo of this area...showing more of these trees.

Thanks. I'll take a look. :o)

wow! great to see a specimen in nature... all we see are the potted ones! how old do you think this one would be? I love their tops as well~ they look like a green fountain!

Lori:

I think this tree because of it's height (~ 25 feet tall) and thick caudex -- it may be around 90 years old because they grow slowly.

Brilliant picture Delanoix, a handsome plant. What do the elephants make of them ?!!

Rbtkew:

Thanks! Not sure what the elephants think. : > )

TT- Mine look more more like the one on the right, behind gigantore!

wow..I thought at first it was an Ombu. Nice Beaucarnea find.

Yes, it's quite spectacular! Virtually all these plants were moved to Elephant's Mesa, from throughout the SD Zoo.

I found it quite scarey - it really looks as though it's ready to lift up that foot and start marching around...

It's not scary! LOL! There's many growing in this area that are very old.

So if they do get up and walk they don't go very far....

It's fantastic ! :)

Hywel:

You should see when they bloom...they are fantastic!

Look at the next pic to the right...that's a tree in bloom.

Thank you I've never seen the flowers.

That's ginormous. Mine I planted in 1992 is about like the one to the right. 3' wide at the base-or more. 8' tall with a half dozen branches.
It gets much competition from a big Magnolia and my squeezed collections of plants. I still like it.
When you can't have the biggest and best? Love the one your with.

It's the biggest one at the SD Zoo. I can't remember if this one is 80 or maybe close to 90 years old (or older). I did find out several years ago.