Slow-growing, evergreen succulent featuring distinctive swollen base or caudex for water storage, drought-tolerant. Mature plants reaching up to 4.5–9 m in height outdoors, typically much smaller when grown indoors. Leaves long, slender, arching, measuring up to 1–2 m, giving graceful, cascading appearance; leathery, dark green, densely clustered at top of trunk, resembling ponytail. Trunk usually solitary, with smooth, grey bark, occasionally producing offsets near base. Flowers, small, white or cream, arranged in large, branched panicles.
Cultivation: Prefers full sun or partial shade and tolerates a wide range of well-drained soils, though it has marginal salt tolerance. Leaves may be damaged by chewing insects, and the plant is prone to root rot in poorly drained soils. Micronutrient deficiencies are common. Propagation is typically from seed, often imported from its natural habitat in Mexico.
Etymology: The genus “Beaucarnea” established by Lemaire in 1861, named after the Belgian amateur M. Beaucarne. The specific epithet “recurvata” comes from the Latin word recurvatus, meaning bent backward or curved back, referring to the plant’s gracefully arching leaves.
