There is no need to reinvent the wheel so let us take this from Wikipedia, to which we should all donate $3 a year:
"Pachycauls are plants with a disproportionately thick trunk for their height". A lot of pachycauls are caudex-forming, but not all of them. "A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem,[1] but the term is also used to mean a rootstock[2] and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.[3] In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is most often used with plants that have a different stem morphology from the typical angiosperm dicotyledon stem:[1] examples of this include palms, ferns, and cycads. The related term caudiciform, literally meaning stem-like, is sometimes used to mean pachycaul, thick-stemmed."
This has to be pointed out because in this list, I will probably end up including plants that are not strictly pachycauls (like several species of trichodiadema) but have large water-retaining taproots under the soil but are otherwise just normal-stemmed plants above the soil line. So all caudiciforms are pachycauls but not all pachycauls are caudiciforms. There is also a species of bulb in this list which is neither.
So, in no particular order other than as I find them on my plant shelves...
Cephalopentandra ecirrhosa
This particular specimen is a seedling so it is small but the available literature describes it as easy to manage, usually growing out of only one vine stem about a meter long. Found in Kenya, Uganda, Somalia and Ethiopia, the caudex can grow to the size of a basketball--it will probably take forever. Supposedly, the flowers are white to yellow, the fruits orange.
Keep your plant fast-draining soil with lots of water and some sun. In the summer when it is too hot, it falls asleep. In the winter, put it in a prime spot in the hot room, right against the window where it will also get the most sun. It's a winter grower so expect it to grow leaves on meandering vine. Just drape it across other plants near it.
There was a mention somewhere on the web about keeping the caudex in the shade while keeping the rest of the plant in the bright sun. Really? It sounds like the plant should have evolved a skirt. But then it came from warmer climes where frigid winters do not force it to lose its leaves so that the caudex is always under a blanket of its own leaves. I guess it did evolve a skirt.
These are very interesting, easy plants. So easy that in frost-free zones, they will be weedy. They grow a bit faster than P. brevicaule up to a height of about 8 inches. They are perfect for a small window pot but they also do well outside in full sun, as long as they are acclimatized properly.
This Dorstenia foetida is the easier of the two we have tried. It forms a caudex and branches from that over time. It thrives in gritty mix but with more organic material than the straight gritty formula--3 parts gritty mix and one part tree bark added. It needs more moisture than most caudiciforms, even in the winter. If it starts dropping its leaves and goes dormant, do not water in the winter.
This plant is a crazy self-seeder, ejecting seeds up to two meters out where they will sprout if they get enough water, warmth and light. You'll probably find seedlings squatting in neighbouring pots. They do not tolerate low temperatures so you are fine if you are in the cold zones. In the tropics, however, they can get weedy so watch out.
D. foetida grows up tp about 6 inches tall, making it ideal as an indoor plant although it is most vigorous when outside in bright shade. If you have the attention span to carefully manage its water requirements, D. foetida can be grown under direct sunlight and it develops an appearance closer to what it looks like in habitat like the one below, one of Knitty Kitty's tropical-grown specimens.
Note that the leaves will tend to grow in significantly tighter clumps, much as they would in habitat where they often grow on rocky substrate, fully exposed to the African daylight.
When kept consistently warm, D. foetida blooms all year round and ejects its seeds. This means that if you grow this plant anywhere on the planet without winter, you will have on your hands a weedy, potentially invasive species. In temperate areas, it is less of a worry because unwanted seedlings are killed off by first frost. As far as we can tell, this plant does not appear to be palatable to the usual pests, either up north or down there near the equator. It is entirely possible bugs are put off by the foetid stench it exudes when injured in any way. I personally have no problems with it, or with the sap, but insects might.
As the plant matures, it will develop branches usually from the base. A fully mature specimen can look like a miniature grove of gnarly, leafy things. Some specimens, however, are known to not branch at all. I haven't sorted out what does that.
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| D. foetida flower getting ready to eject ripe seeds. They shoot out in all directions so if you want to collect them, cover the flower with a small baggie. |
The Dorstenia lavranii is the annoying one of these two species. It has been a little harder to get the hang of nudging this little nit along. Giving it the same level of care as D. foetida does not seem to work. It might need a more moisture-retentive substrate; it definitely can not handle has much sun as D. foetida.
These D. lavrani seedlings also appear to require much more water than D. foetida. In summer and growing in gritty mix with some soil mixed in, it gets as much water as potted coleus growing in potting soil. D. lavrani has been known to bloom as young as one year old. Mine, however, took about five years. And it is not possible to say which plant is male or female until they bloom. Even then, you will need a magnifying glass and an inordinate amount of patience. Unlike the D. foetida, these flowers do not dangle out for easy access and both of them are no more than 3 to 5 mm across.
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| 2013, plant sex unknown |
These D. lavrani seedlings also appear to require much more water than D. foetida. In summer and growing in gritty mix with some soil mixed in, it gets as much water as potted coleus growing in potting soil. D. lavrani has been known to bloom as young as one year old. Mine, however, took about five years. And it is not possible to say which plant is male or female until they bloom. Even then, you will need a magnifying glass and an inordinate amount of patience. Unlike the D. foetida, these flowers do not dangle out for easy access and both of them are no more than 3 to 5 mm across.
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| D. lavrani, male flower |
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| D. lavrani, female flower |
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| Just about all grown up, male and female D. lavrani |
Operculicarya decaryi
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| 2015, fresh off of a seed-grower on eBay. |
O. decaryi is a native of Madagascar, thankfully not one of its threatened species. Known on the island as jabihy, it is a deciduous thick-stemmed (pachycaul) tree that can grow up to nine metres tall. It is one of eight species in the genus Operculicarya, seven of which are all endemic to Madagascar. The government had proposed its inclusion in the CITES Appendix II to regulate trade but the proposal was later withdrawn because the tree is now widely available as an artificially propagated plant, grown easily from seeds.
Supposedly, it will grow a fat trunk quickly. But it is the leaves that I like the most. They look like sampaloc leaves--tiny, dark and shiny green. The plant is dioecious. This means you need a male and female plants in order to get seeds. And no, I have no clue what either of these plants look like. I suspect you find out only after they bloom.
Operculicarya decaryi, I am told, prefers part to full sun. It is now growing in the 5-1-1 version of the gritty mix, watered regularly and kept on a sunny spot in a room where humidity level is maintained at 50 percent or higher.
Operculicarya decaryi, I am told, prefers part to full sun. It is now growing in the 5-1-1 version of the gritty mix, watered regularly and kept on a sunny spot in a room where humidity level is maintained at 50 percent or higher.
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| Autumn, 2020. This is the best angle; if the trunk shape looks confusing, that's because it is. I have it in a flexible plastic pot right now because it is planted in gritty mix, some soil and a huge lava rock that the root can wrap itself around. 2021 might be the year to check out the roots! To be furthered...... |
Bursera faragoides
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| 2015 |
I got this plant from a grower on eBay who was selling the seedlings as "Mexican elephant plant". I'm not sure why they call it elephant plant at all since there are no elephants to eat them there and they do not look like elephants.
In point of fact, this is one of the torchwood trees---cousin to frankincense and myrrh. Sometimes I'd pluck a leaf, crush it and inhale. Smells kind of nice. But this is, by far, the most unruly plant I have. It is nearly impossible to shape it; the thing will sprout branches wherever. It really doesn't give a shit.
This year, I tried rotating it on the table to expose all its parts to the summer sun (this is one of the weird shit you have to do if you live this far north; it's a pain). That seemed to have helped--I did not have to prune it this year and I think I can't store it this winter without going through conniptions finding the space for its weirdass shape.
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| Autumn 2020; waiting to defoliate. |
Tylecodon reticulatus
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| This plant, Tylecodon reticulatus, has such a history that it has its own post. Read it here. |
Tylecodon paniculatus
Tylecodon ventricosus
If you have one of these, pay attention to the amount of light they get in winter if you have them growing indoors. They are active during the cold season so they will need a shit-ton of light or they will most definitely etiolate. Mine stretched out so badly that I decided to prune it at the end of summer and root the tips. The base plant is just sitting there, probably wondering where its heads went. No growth whatsoever.
The tips, however, are now very actively growing. I have not checked if they actually have roots.
Tylecodon buchholzianus
I got this plant in 2016. as a miniscule cutting. It is a ridiculously fragile plant with brittle branches that will fly off if you sneezed in its general direction. That's why there are two cuttings in this pot---someone snouted the top off in a fit of curiosity. This is a winter grower and absolutely has to be be in full sun or otherwise brightly lit indoors in winter if your weather freezes. Sun exposure from a window is not enough, you need artificial lighting at least 6000k for at least 8 hours. I recommend an LED blurple panel so that your light source will not heat up the plant like it is summer at a time when it is supposed to be actively growing in cooler temperature.
The proper way to grow this tylecodon is to make sure it is exposed to enough light that it never ever grows leaves. It has microscopic leaflets--so small that you can say the stem itself can photosynthesize. But it sometimes grows normal succulent leaves. If you find your plant covered in actual visible leaves, you know it needs more light. I have mine under blurples in winter and under partial, thin shade in summer when it is dormant.
I got the second, larger plant above in October 2019 in a stress-induced spasm of plant acquisition. It was shocking and a testimony to the California grower's packing skill that the shape survived shipping. The only time a branch ever snapped off was when I bumped it when I brought it in this season. I didn't even notice until now that I have both plants growing in akadama.
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| The first plant, now 4 years old (Autumn, 2020) |
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| Autumn 2020, broken branches rooting on the side. |
Othonna euphorbioides
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| 2015 |
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| 2020 |
Ceraria pygmaea
Acquired in May 2016, this plant has changed so much. Not. It is as stoic as it is possible for a plant to be. The branches have elongated a bit, just from all the years and what-not.
Pelargonium appendiculatum
This plant needs occasional cleaning but only do it in autumn when it starts growing new leaves. Years of accumulated dry leaves protect it from the summer heat and drenching rain while it is dormant could kill it. It's why this is my second P. appendiculatum. Naked heat killed the first one in 2016. I had to get another seedling right away.
Avonia quinaria
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| 2015 |
I was told this will make sure the taproot will not stay overly wet overly long. Fine.
The problem with this plan is this: as the plant grows restricted thusly, there is nowhere for that mass to go except up. If you want to grow the caudex, make sure you do not forget that you own one. You will have to move it to a deeper pot eventually or it will just push itself upwards and expose the caudex prematurely. Once exposed, the caudex will no longer get fatter.
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| 2017. Should've repotted it then. |
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| October 2020 push-ups. This plant may be hopeless for repairs. That trunk has been exposed for too long. |
Schizobasis (Drimia) intricata, Your Daily Sibuyas (LC)
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| Here we start just lumping all the fatties together. This one, when examined closely, looks more like an odd onion than a caudiciform or any of the other usual fat plants. The bulb itself is no bigger than a cherry tomato. The delicate branches have no leaves and perform all the photosynthesis the plant requires. The flowers open at night, they are even more delicate than the gangly network of branches. It gets annoying, actually. Especially if you have several bulbs in a pot. You can just mow that shit down to keep it under control. |
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