Pachypodium namaquanum

Pachypodium namaquanum (Wyley ex Harv.) Welw. is a succulent single-stemmed plant growing to 4 metres tall in the arid, rocky mountains of the Richtersveld in the Northern Cape and southern Namibia. The warty trunk, thickset at the base and tapering to the top, is densely covered in sharp spines. Where damaged, the trunk produces side-branches that immediately curve back to the vertical. while the very top of the plant is usually bent to the north, in the same way that Copiapoa cinerea (Cactaceae) of the Atacama Desert leans to the north. There is a crown or tuft of undulate leaves at the apex of the trunk during the growing season which is throughout the winter months. The tubular velvet-textured flowers appear from August to October and result in twin seedpods in a V-shape. These split down one side to release the wind-dispersed plumed seeds. Seen from a distance, the plant has the appearance of a person trudging up a slope whence its common name of "Halfmens" (Afrikaans for 'semi-human'). It is also called Elephant's trunk.