Pachypodium Species, Club Foot, Elephant's Trunk, Half-Man's, Halfmen

Per Jan Emming owner of the Destination:Forever Ranch and Gardens, a 40 acre desert botanical garden and sustainable living homestead in ...Read Morethe Arizona desert with a nursery:

The nation of South Africa has somewhere near 40% of all succulent plant species on earth, which is an extraordinarily large proportion for a relatively limited geographical land area, globally speaking. Diversity of this group of plants, plus numerous others, is rather remarkable for this country as well as those that adjoin it such as Mozambique and Namibia. I was fortunate to be able to travel there in September 2009 and witness a small selection of the overall biological wealth in the Western and Northern Cape Provinces.

One of my absolutely favorite days in South Africa in 2009 was the one we drove the interior dirt tracks of the Northern Cape Province between the Richtersveld region and Klein Pella, located on the Orange River on the border with Namibia. Our group was in search of Pachypodium namaquanum, the so-called "halfmens". This is the Afrikaans term for semi-human, and it refers to the unusually humanoid appearance of these highly charismatic plants.
The apex of P. namaquanum typically tilts at about a 25 to 30 degree angle to the north, which is the sunny direction in the southern hemisphere. This quirky feature is likely to be an evolutionary response that allows the heads to do maximum photosynthesis during short and cool days of winter, when the leaves appear. However legends from the Nama people of the region say that these plants were once ancient tribe members who were driven southwards into inhospitably dry, rocky terrain by conflicts to the north. The gods took pity upon these refugees and turned them into halfmens, and gave them a view of their former homelands, always looking longingly back to where they once lived.

Pachypodium namaquanum is a rather unique looking succulent in the Plumera family (Apocynaceae). Shown above in my photos growing upon white quartz outcroppings, the plant's range includes northwestern South Africa and southwestern Namibia.

The vast, dry, rocky reaches of Namaqualand and the Richtersveld in northwestern South Africa and southwestern Namibia are home to Pachypodium namaquanum, also known as halfmens, which is Afrikaans for semi-human.

It is common to see the swollen, bottle-shaped bases of Pachypodium namaquanum tightly wedged into extremely narrow rock cracks. Clearly these rocky clefts trap the windblown seeds and provide an extra measure of protection for germinating seedlings. The impermeable rock layers must also shed the sparse rainfall into the cracks, where it will soak in more deeply and remain for longer than in more open situations. This wedging-into-cracks growth habit can be seen in many succulents worldwide.


Pachypodium namaquanum can reach heights of over 8 feet tall (2.5 meters). Leaves are borne only atop the tips of individual stems during the cooler winter months, when some rain does fall across their native region.

Pachypodium namaquanum flowers in late winter and early spring in South Africa. These were in prime bloom in mid-September 2009. The crinkled leaves are unique to this species in the genus, as are the massed flowers in a central bouquet.

While most Pachpodium namaquanum are single-stemmed, damage to the growth points can result in mulitple heads forming.

This 12th image of mine shows Pachypodium namaquanum in typical quartizitc sandstone habitat. Plants tend to grow on cooler and moister south-facing slopes, but tilt their heads to the north for maximum sun exposure in winter when the leaves are present. They are leafless in the long, dry summer months.

The photo with 6 stems stood about 7 feet (2 meters) tall. Plants with multiple heads set many more flowers and produce much more seed, so it's a bit odd that they don't all eventually do this. But most remain single for most of their lives.

Wow! I wonder if this interesting genus is available in N.Z? Might tempt me away from frilly echeverias. My Doublette is currently stunni...Read Moreng but I should try something different. May be rather too cool here however.

Pachypodium namaquanum is called "Halfmens" in Afrikaans which means Half-man. The name stems from the folklore of an African tribe calle...Read Mored the Nama. Some of the tribe once occupied better land in what is now Southern Namibia. A bloody conflict drove them into the Richtersveld which is a rocky desert wasteland. They kept looking northwards, towards their homeland and the gods took pity on them, turning them into plants with heads forever turned to the north.
It only grows in the Richtersveld region in South Africa and Southern Namibia in an arid, rocky environment with little to no rainfall and some cool Atlantic fogs providing moisture. This is why the frilly head of leaves is handy in trapping moisture from the fog - which runs down the smooth trunk into the soil. The bark is brilliant white to reflect the intense light and heat (up to 120 F in summer) in its natural region. It is thorny and posionous to ward off snacking insects and baboons.
The plants grow only on Southern slopes (Southern Hemisphere) since they are cooler and the leafy heads point northwards to get maximum sunlight similar to those of the Chilean cactus, Copiapoa cinerea.
They appreciate a mineral rich well-draining soil since this is typical of their native rocky slopes. Bone meal in the soil and a half strength kelp-based fertilizer also goes down well. Small plants germinate and grow in between rocks and dry grassy tufts - so if you have a small plant - do not stick it in an overexposed full-sun position - rather place it in a hot, sunny location between larger pots so that it gets some direct sun, but not all day long. This is true for hotter areas - if you live in a cooler place - more sun is needed. Only water regularly when it is in leaf.
It can grow quickly (in succulent terms) if conditions are perfect, but anything from a foot in trunk length upwards earns you bragging rights.

A staple now at C&S shows. Mine has been through it all. Left outside in a pot a couple of winters.It survived.Over watered a spring or t...Read Morewo, and the roots rotted.It survived. Grown outside for a few summers it didn't grow very much.
Now,I have it on the windowsill of a large southwestern facing window. This is where it is now putting on some size. In contrast to watering in our cool summers outdoors,in the blazing heat next to the window it enjoys much summer water and a little amount of fertilizer. A plant with little more than leaves in the late 90's,it's now has a trunk of 8". Even with the best care i doubt it would much more than 14" in 8 or 9 years time.Keeping it alive is easy,getting to grow large takes exacting conditions!
2015: Its now 12" in a pot and has flowered the last 3 year. Very short lived flowers. Where did the last 8 years go?
2016: I forgot to add that the flowering years have been by keeping it outdoors. It has taken freezing temps with no damage at all. Very,very,slow. Our 75f summer days not optimum!