Dear Steve,
Vey few people have old plants of Beaucarnea recurvata and it is extremely
unlikely a small plant grown as a house plant will be suckering. More likely
she had a plant of Ornithogalum longibracteatum (O.caudatum) she
misidentified as a "Ponytail Palm" but that's another story.
There are now 9 recognized species of Beaucarnea Lemaire. Very few of them
are seen in cultivation.
- section Beaucarnea - leaves smooth (green in color)
B.recurvata Lemaire
B.inermis (S.Watson) Rose
B.goldmanii Rose
B.ameliae Lundell
B.petensis (Lundell) Lundell
- section Papillatae Trelease - leaves scabrous (rough to the touch, usually
grayish in color)
B.stricta Lemaire
B.gracilis Lemaire
B.guatemalensis Rose
B.hiriartiae L.Hernandez S.
"Steve Hinkson" <sphinkson at worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:3A9F73A1.89ACD004 at worldnet.att.net...
>>> Cereoid wrote:
>> > The "Ponytail Palm" is Beaucarnea recurvata. It normally does not form
> > suckers.
> >
>> All 4 Beaucarneas DO form suckers, particularly under stress. The other
> Beaucarnea often sold as "Ponytail Palm" is B. gracilis. The easiest to
spot
> morphological distinction is that recurvata
> has long, thin bright green leaves, and gracilis' leaves are more
gray-blue and
> glaucous. Here in the South West, it's simply sold as the "Blue
Ponytail".
>> My ONLY reason for mentioning that is because this fairly common "Ponytail
Palm"
> suckers on an older caudex like a Calibanus!
> Now, Steve, you're guilty of doing just what you chide others for having
done.
> Given an opinion for a common name without considering the other plants of
the
> same common name.
>> To have a Beaucarnea gracilis grown past seedling stage without at least
one
> lateral shoot would be unusual.
>> Steve
> --
> "You can easily judge the character of a person by how he treats those who
can
> do nothing for him
> or to him." Malcolm Forbes
>> Drop by and see me at :
>http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/6811>>
