Pachypodium Namaquanum (Elephant's Trunk, Halfmens) Family Apocynaceae CITES Listing Appendix II Common Names Elephant's Trunk (Eng.); Halfmens (Afr.); Club Foot

SANBI IDentifyIt - Species Pachypodium namaquanum (Elephant's trunk, Halfmens) Family Apocynaceae CITES Listing Appendix II Common names Elephant's trunk (Eng.); Halfmens (Afr.); Club Foot. Geographic location / distribution / province Richtersveld (Northern Cape and southern Namibia) in the Gariep Region or Orange River region Distinguishing characteristics Description: A succulent plant that can attain a tree-like appearance when fully grown.Usually single-stemmed succulent plant or small tree, growing extremely slowly. The stem will grow up to 25 cm in diameter and the height may range between 1.5 and 2.5 m when fully grown; however, 4 and 5 m specimens have been observed. Stem: It has a cylindrical trunk, that thicksets at the base and tapering to the top that gives them an unmistakable bottle-like appearance when mature. The stems are mostly unbranched but may become branched from near the base or - where damaged - the trunk produces side-branches that immediately curve back to the vertical, while the very top of the plant is usually bent to the north. Spines: The stems are covered with warty tubercles (knob-like projections on the stem), from which sharp spines protrude in a slightly downward direction. The spines are more abundant along the top half of the plant and decrease toward the base where tubercles are more prominent. Fruit: Horn-like with twin pencil-thin tapering seedpods/capsules in a V-shape (joined at the base) up to 50 mm long. Short, soft and grey hairs densely cover the fruit.. These are pale brown and split down one side to release the wind- dispersed plumed seeds which are about 4mm long and are attached to a tuft of whitish hairs that act as parachutes. Seeds: About 4 mm long and attached to a tuft of whitish hairs that act as parachutes. Seeds normally ripen from September to December. Plants are extremely slow growing, around 0.5-1.5 cm per year and can become a hundred years old or more. The generic name Pachypodium is derived from the Greek word "pachys" meaning "thick" and "podion" which means "foot". The specific name namaquanum refers to the "Namaqualand", a semi-arid region in the northwestern part of South Africa. WARNING: It is known that P. namaquanum also contains poisonous alkaloids as its sap is also used for arrow poisons. The sap can also cause blindness when in contact with the eyes. Threats Threats include mining for diamonds and other minerals, overgrazing by sheep and goats in the mountainous parts, alien plant invaders (e.g. Prosopis spp. ) and illegal removal of succulents by collectors and traders (Van Wyk & Smith 2001). Leaves Green-grey and densely velvety on both surfaces. They form a crowded rosette at the apex of the trunk during the growing season. Leaf apexes are tapering or rounded; bases narrowly tapering. The leaf margins are entire and very wavy which is another distinctive characteristic of this succulent. The plant has another flush of leaves after blooming. Reference http://www.cactus-art.biz/catalog/en/product/3178/Pachypodium-namaquanum.asp Other species in the same family Pachpodium Pachypodium bispinosum Pachypodium succulentum Flowering months The flowers appear from July to October. Flowers: Tubular velvet-textured, ,up to 50 mm long and 10 mm across at the mouth. They are red on the inside and yellow-green outside, the petals have dark red tips. Generally blooms at 6 year old or older, 30 cm tall.