Caudex Plant Encyclopedia

A Pachypodium from Namibia and Angola that grows into a 3-6 m tree with a bottle-shaped, swollen-based trunk. In the dry season it bears fragrant white flowers, flushed purple outside, on leafless branch tips.

Known in Japan as Hakubajo. A southern African Pachypodium whose ball-shaped base sends up densely spiny branches and bears large white flowers flushed purple in autumn. It is easy and relatively fast-growing.

A rare Pachypodium from NW Madagascar with white flowers and thick trunk, difficult to grow.

A rare Pachypodium with red flowers, the only red-flowered species in the genus.

A South African Pachypodium with pink bell-shaped flowers and large underground caudex.

Known as Ebisu-warai in Japan, with a flat caudex shape and yellow flowers.

A northern Madagascan Pachypodium with an almost spherical grey caudex and slender, nearly spineless branches. It bears pure white flowers up to 12 cm across, the largest in the genus. CITES Appendix I.

Called Shiba Queen's Comb in Japanese, with dense yellow flowers and stocky caudex.

A rare small Pachypodium with white flowers (unusual among the many yellow-flowered species), elegant ivory-colored trunk and large white blooms.

Known in Japan as Aasoukai. A south-western Madagascan Pachypodium with a thick, spiny, silver-grey trunk rising like a column and a crown of long, narrow leaves with a bright pink midrib. One of the largest species in the genus.

A Pachypodium with thick caudex producing multiple branches, yellow flowers and silver trunk.

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.

A spiny caudex plant from Madagascar. Popular as 'Madagascar Palm Tree'.

A Pachypodium with vase-shaped caudex and rosette leaves, relatively easy to grow.

A hardy South African Pachypodium with pink flowers and large underground caudex.

A Pachypodium from the far north of Madagascar with a swollen, flask-shaped caudex, a few slender twisting branches and bright red flowers with a pale green eye. It is smaller than P. baronii in all parts, with very short flower stalks.