You will find very different specimens in the trade as elephant foot, elephant tree, water palm or bottle tree. It can always be the same plant species, but also different. A layman can hardly find his way around.
The elephant foot Nolina is non-toxic
Why is that? Firstly, there are two different but related genera, namely Beaucarnea and Nolina. These genera each contain different species, but only a few of them are commercially available as houseplants. The German designations are often chosen at random.
How can I distinguish the species?
The different species are more or less similar in appearance, many have the characteristic under thickened stem, but some species are also stemless. In addition, it usually only develops significantly with age. The safest distinction when buying is therefore the botanical name on the label. If this is missing, then you are partly dependent on speculation and/or comparisons with pictures.
If you have pets or small children, then it is particularly important to know which plant you actually have, because the Beaucarnea elephant's foot is considered (slightly) poisonous, in contrast to the non-poisonous Nolina. Cat owners should keep this in mind, because cats like to nibble on the leaves of the elephant's foot.
Do the plants need different care?
The elephant foot Beaucarnea is quite easy to care for, but not hardy. It needs a lot of warmth (temperatures around 20 °C to 25 °C) and a lot of light, but does not tolerate the blazing midday sun or waterlogging. With the nolina plants, on the other hand, you will find frost-hardy varieties that you can plant in the garden. When watering and fertilizing, you don't have to make any big differences.
The essentials in brief:
- different types possible
- easy to confuse with nolina waxes
- Probably the most common species on the market: Beaucarnea recurvata
- very different appearance in young plants
- hardly any differences regarding watering and fertilizing
tips
A young elephant's foot does not yet have the characteristic thickened trunk. Therefore, it is often mistaken for another plant.