Pachypodium is a genus of caudiciform succulents placed in the Apocynaceae family. Many of the species produce spectacular flowers. They exhibit a wide range of bizarre growth forms, from bottle-, cigar- or candelabrum-shaped trees to dwarf plants with very short stalks. Sizes range from a few centimetres above the soil to heights of more than 8 m. In southern Africa, the mystical elephant’s trunk or halfmens (Pachypodium namaquanum) is probably the best known and rarest member of the genus. Pachypodiums are characteristically plants of hotter, drier regions of southern Africa and Madagascar where they reach maximum diversity in terms of numbers of species. Most species grow well in pots and rockeries. Larger species like Pachypodium geayi and Pachypodium lamerei make excellent landscaping plants too.

Pachypodium lamerei has large thorns and leaves mostly just at the top of the plant. It is a stem succulent and comes from the island Madagascar. The plant bears large, fragrant flowers. The species has become one of the best known pachypodiums in cultivation, being relatively easy to propagate and grow. In cultivation it is often marketed as the “Madagascar Palm”, despite it not being a palm at all.