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Operculicarya decaryi (Elephant Tree) - An attractive small tree in the cashew or sumac family, the Anacardiaceae, that has a thick bumpy and twisted trunk, zigzagging branches, and alternate odd-pinnate leaves with tiny shiny dark green rounded leaflets. These leaflets are often beautifully tinged red in cooler weather. In its native in Madagascar this plant is a drought deciduous upright tree to nearly 30 feet tall with a 3 foot wide trunk but more often it is seen in cultivation as a semi-evergreen small tree or even a bonsai specimen with its decorative trunk or even roots exposed in very small containers. Mature plants have small reddish to brown flowers at the tips of the branches in late winter that are not showy with male and female flowers on separate plants (dioecious). Small globular fruit age from yellow-orange to red on female plants - seed is viable only when male and female plants flower together.
Plant in full to partial sun in a well-drained soil and water only occasionally in summer months less in winter, a bit more regularly if in a container but even then, it requires very little water - what could be better than a drought tolerant container plant! Many report that it is frost sensitive, but we had a nice specimen accidentally left outside for the hard frosts of January 2007 with three nights in a row that had temperatures dropping down to 25 ° F, so believe this plant is hardier than most give it credit. In cold winters plants will be more or less deciduous but will remain evergreen in warmer locations. Trim out interlocking or twiggy branches to keep plant neat.
Operculicarya decaryi comes from the Toliara Province of south-west Madagascar from where it was described in 1944 by Joseph Marie Henry Alfred Perrier de la Bāthie (1873-1958), a French botanist who specialized in the plants of Madagascar. The name for the genus is from the Latin word 'operculum' meaning a "small lid" and the Greek word 'karya' for a "nut tree" in reference to the operculate nut-like seeds. The genus has eight species of which seven are endemic to Madagascar with the eighth, O. gummifera, found in Madagascar and on the Comoros Islands. The specific epithet of this species honors the plant collector Raymond Decary. Other common names include Jabily and Tabihy. In 2010 this plant was propose for inclusion as a Appendex II listed plant of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Though we have older specimens in our collection, we started growing and selling this plant in the nursery in 2011. These first plants were grown from seedling plants purchased from succulent specialist Duke Benadom, who maintained large male and female plants at his Simi Valley, California home. From 2013 on all of our plants were propagated onsite from root cuttings.
This information about Operculicarya decaryi displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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