About Operculicarya
Operculicarya is a genus of the cashew family with eight species native to Madagascar, the Comoro Islands and Aldabra. They are small dioecious trees of dry rocky habitats with swollen, thickened trunks, corky bark and small pinnate leaves. In horticulture O. pachypus and O. decaryi are grown as caudiciform succulents and often trained like bonsai. Three species, O. decaryi, O. hyphaenoides and O. pachypus, are listed in CITES Appendix II.
A small deciduous pachycaul tree reaching up to 1.2m tall with a barrel-shaped trunk covered in corky, warty bark. Branches grow in a distinctive zigzag pattern. Produces tiny glossy compound leaves and small yellowish-green flowers. Dioecious species. Autumn foliage turns red before leaf drop.
Scientific Name
Operculicarya
Family