Caudex Plant Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia of popular caudex plants with care guides, traits, and root management tips.
Featured Caudex Plant
Showing 22 of 141 species
© Daderot / CC0Adenia perrieri
Adenia perrieri
A Madagascan Adenia that sends green vines with lace-like, finely divided leaves from a caudex about 20 cm across. It is grown more for its foliage than its caudex, and a white-spotted "snowflake" form is also known.
Commiphora monstruosa
Commiphora monstruosa
A Commiphora endemic to Madagascar, a shrub with a fat, knobbly trunk and flaking bark. It was first described in Operculicarya, and the name refers to its bizarre shape.
Cyphostemma Laza
Cyphostemma laza
A Madagascar grape-family caudex with silver trunk and large leaves, very impressive.
© Frank Vincentz / CC BY-SA 3.0Delonix decaryi
Delonix decaryi
A caudiciform legume from south-western Madagascar with a bottle-shaped trunk of peeling grey bark under an umbrella-shaped crown. It has finely divided leaves and fragrant white flowers with long red stamens.
© User:Qwertzy2 / CC BY-SA 3.0Elephant-foot Grape Tree
Cyphostemma elephantopus
A caudiciform member of the grape family endemic to south-western Madagascar. From a stout brown caudex like an elephant's foot it sends out vining stems with fleshy three-lobed leaves in summer. CITES Appendix II.
© Frank Vincentz / CC BY-SA 3.0Euphorbia Ambovombensis
Euphorbia ambovombensis
A small caudex Euphorbia from Madagascar with a plump caudex and small leaves.
© Frank Vincentz / CC BY-SA 3.0Euphorbia Cylindrifolia
Euphorbia cylindrifolia
A small Euphorbia with cylindrical leaves and caudex, endemic to Madagascar.
© Frank Vincentz / CC BY-SA 3.0Euphorbia gottlebei
Euphorbia gottlebei
A shrubby Madagascan spurge with slender, densely spiny branches, narrow leaves and small flowers with orange-red bracts below the branch tips. It looks like a miniature crown-of-thorns.
Euphorbia suzannae-marnierae
Euphorbia suzannae-marnierae
A small spurge from the southern tip of Madagascar with a round grey-brown caudex about 5 cm across, a few slender branches and spirally arranged, leathery, curled leaves in green to copper. The flowers are pendulous bells.
© Frank Vincentz / CC BY-SA 3.0Euphorbia waringiae
Euphorbia waringiae
A small spurge from south-eastern Madagascar whose half-buried round caudex, about 6 cm across, sends out slender leaning branches set with small whitish bumps. White to cream flowers keep opening for several months.
© User:Qwertzy2 / CC BY-SA 3.0Operculicarya Decaryi
Operculicarya decaryi
A caudex plant with bonsai-like form, beautiful balance of small leaves and thick trunk.
Operculicarya hyphaenoides
Operculicarya hyphaenoides
A south-western Madagascan Operculicarya with several thick, warty trunks from one base and finely divided, densely hairy pinnate leaves. Its rounded, squarish leaflets and overall hairiness set it apart from O. pachypus and O. decaryi.
© User:Qwertzy2 / CC BY-SA 3.0Pachypodium
Pachypodium
Caudex plant from Madagascar. Fascinating contrast between thick thorny trunk and small leaves. Rapidly growing popularity.
Pachypodium bicolor
Pachypodium bicolor
A yellow-flowered Pachypodium in the P. rosulatum group, named for its two-tone flowers whose throat is white inside. A thick trunk branches densely into a low, somewhat pendulous shrub 25-50 cm tall.
Pachypodium enigmaticum
Pachypodium enigmaticum
A Pachypodium from central Madagascar described in 2014. From the top of a round, greenish-white caudex it spreads glossy, hairless leaves and bears large, clear yellow flowers.
© Jesteinwiki / CC0Pachypodium Gracilius
Pachypodium gracilius
The quintessential caudex plant from Madagascar. Round caudex body with yellow flowers. Wild-collected specimens with unique forms command high prices. Seed-growing is also very popular.
© Michael Wolf (Webseite) / CC BY-SA 3.0Pachypodium inopinatum
Pachypodium inopinatum
A small central-northern Madagascan Pachypodium in the P. rosulatum group. Slender spiny branches rise from a swollen trunk, and unusually for this mostly yellow-flowered group it bears ivory flowers.
© Daderot at English Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0Pachypodium Lamerei
Pachypodium lamerei
A spiny caudex plant from Madagascar. Popular as 'Madagascar Palm Tree'.
Pachypodium sofiense
Pachypodium sofiense
A tree-like Pachypodium from north-western Madagascar close to P. rutenbergianum, reaching about 5 m. Spiny branches end in dense, palm-like tufts of leaves, and it produces many white flowers.
© SAplants / CC BY-SA 4.0Uncarina Grandidieri
Uncarina grandidieri
A sesame-family caudex from Madagascar with yellow flowers, broad leaves and unique seeds.
© Another one of my pictures: This photograph was taken by Medium69 (William Crochot) and released under the license stated below. You are free to use it for any purpose as long as you credit the author (William Crochot), the Source (Wikimedia Commons) and the license (CC-BY-SA 4.0) in close relation to the image. Please do not upload an updated image here without consultation with the Author. The author would like to make corrections only at his own source RAW. This ensures that the changes are preserved. Please if you think that any changes should be required, please inform the author. Otherwise you can upload a new image with a new name. Please use one of the templates derivative or extract . / CC BY-SA 4.0Uncarina Roeoesliana
Uncarina roeoesliana
A caudex plant from Madagascar with large yellow flowers and characteristic sticky fruits.
© LoJallen / CC BY-SA 4.0Za baobab
Adansonia za
A Madagascan baobab with a brownish-rose trunk that is widest at the base and tapers upward. The most widespread of Madagascar's endemic baobabs, it opens yellow and red flowers at the start of the wet season.
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Caudex Plant FAQ
- How much do caudex plants cost?
- Pachypodium gracilius seedlings cost 2,000-10,000 yen, wild-collected specimens 30,000-200,000+ yen, and Operculicarya pachypus can reach hundreds of thousands of yen.
- Can beginners grow caudex plants?
- Adenium (Desert Rose) and Pachypodium seedlings are relatively easy and beginner-friendly. Just be careful with watering during winter dormancy, and you can enjoy them for years.
- How long do caudex plants live?
- Some specimens live for hundreds of years in the wild. In cultivation, they can thrive for decades with proper care. Watching the caudex thicken year by year is the greatest appeal.
- What should I check when buying caudex plants?
- Whether it's rooted is the most important point. Wild-collected imports are often unrooted and require root establishment. Beginners should start with rooted domestically grown seedlings.
- How do caudex plants overwinter?
- Many caudex plants go dormant in winter. Reduce watering from October, and withhold water completely from December to February. Keep indoors in a sunny spot at minimum 10°C.