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 mikea is an impressive, palm like, small succulent tree, similar to Pachypodium geayi, with a large, columnar, straight, pale trunk to more than 4 m tall that holds a somewhat sparse, branching crown. The simple, narrow, glossy leaves form a palmlike rosette on top of each spiny shoot. The flowers are white. Pachypodium mikea is native to dry forest in southwestern Madagascar. It makes a stunning ornamental for the drier tropics and a nice indoor plant elsewhere.