Beaucarnea

Taxobox
name = "Beaucarnea"


image_width = 240px
image_caption = "Beaucarnea pliabilis"
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Liliopsida
ordo = Asparagales
familia = Ruscaceae
genus = "Beaucarnea"
genus_authority = Lem.
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text

"Beaucarnea" is a genus of four species of flowering plant in the family Ruscaceae, native to Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. The genus has been included in "Nolina" by some botanists and has previously been variously classified in Nolinaceae or Agavaceae.

The species are small tropical xerophytic trees growing to 6-10 m tall, with a trunk 20-40 cm diameter with a flared base; young plants are single-stemmed, branching only after flowering. The leaves are evergreen, linear, strap-shaped, 0.5-1.8 m long and 1.5-2 cm broad, leathery in texture, with a finely serrated margin. The flowers are produced only on old trees, forming on large panicles 75-110 cm long, the individual flowers numerous but very small (1.5 mm diameter), greenish-white, with six tepals.

;Selected species
*"Beaucarnea gracilis" (syn. "B. oedipus", "Nolina gracilis")
*"Beaucarnea guatemalensis" (syn. "Nolina guatemalensis")
*"Beaucarnea pliabilis"
*"Beaucarnea recurvata" (syn. "Nolina recurvata")

Cultivation and uses

The most commonly seen species is "Beaucarnea recurvata" (syn. "Nolina recurvata"), which is often called the “ponytail palm” in English although it is not a true palm). This species is often grown as a houseplant in temperate latitudes. Successful cultivation requires winter minimum temperatures of above 10 °C, rising to around 30 °C in summer; frequent watering is needed in summer, but not in winter, when they require relatively dry conditions to avoid root decay.

References

* [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?13595 Germplasm Resources Information Network: "Beaucarnea"]
* [http://www.nybg.org/bsci/belize/Beaucarnea_pliabilis.html New York Botanic Garden: "Beaucarnea pliabilis"]