Beaucarnea recurvata
Beaucarnea recurvata
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
A plant of the arid and semi-arid tropics. Plants can tolerate occasional temperatures down to about -5°c, older plants can survive even lower temperatures[1]. Requires a position in full sun or light shade[2, 3]. Succeeds in a wide range of soils so long as they are well-drained[2, 3]. Established plants are very drought tolerant[3]. The plant usually only flowers in advanced maturity, but then it can flower 2 - 3 times a year[2, 3]. The flowers are produced in panicles about 1 metre long[2]. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if seed is required[4].
Propagation
Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Beaucarnea+recurvata>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Desert Tropicals — http://www.desert-tropicals.com/ ↩︎The main focus of the site is succulent plants, but it also contains information on a wide range of other species. Usually at least one good photograph, plus basic information about the plant and its cultivation.
- [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [3]Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida — University of Florida · http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/shrubs/ ↩︎PDF fact sheets on over 500 shrubs.
- [4]Bihrmann's Caudiciforms — http://www.bihrmann.com/caudiciforms/ ↩︎An internet site giving information on caudiciform plants (plants with swollen stem bases such as the Baobab tree, cycads and many succulents). Excellent photos, usually of cultivated plants in pots.
- [5]Trees and Shrubs of Mexico — Standley P.C. · Smithsonian Institution; Washington · 1926 ↩︎Although dated, it contains a wealth of information on the trees and shrubs of Mexico, including many of their uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
- [6]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.