Pachypodium rosulatum drakei (Costantin & Bois ) Marckgr.
Pachypodium rosulatum, common name elephant's foot plant, belongs to the family Apocynaceae.
Description
Pachypodium rosulatum is a shrubby perennialcaudiciform plant with a bottle-shaped trunk, brownish silver and almost spineless, about 10–15 centimetres (3.9–5.9 in) wide and about 20–35 centimetres (7.9–13.8 in) tall. From the caudex depart many thorny cylindrical arms, forming a shrub about 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) tall. The leaves, which fall in the dry season, form a rosette on the top of branches. They are deciduous, dark green, oblanceolate, ovate or elliptical and petiolated. The long-stalked flowers are sulphur-yellow and form an inflorescence about 30 centimetres (12 in) high. Flowering period extends from February through May. The fruits are 6 to 20 inches long and contain elongated seeds with a length of 6 mm.
Distribution
This plant is native to Madagascar and it is widespread on the central plateau.
Habitat
These plants prefer sunny and stony areas. The succulent caudex and the underground tuberous enable the plant to tolerate long periods of drought.
Gallery
Pachypodium rosulatum subsp. gracilius in Isalo N. P., Madagascar
Pachypodium rosulatum subsp. gracilius in Isalo N. P., Madagascar
Elephant's foot in flower in Isalo N. P., Madagascar
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