ruthbancroftgarden:

Beaucarnea recurvata x stricta

Beaucarneas are often referred to as “pony-tail palms” and grown as house plants, but out in the ground they can become very large in time, with the swollen base too large to wrap one’s arms around. They have separate male and female plants, though these cannot be told apart until they reach flowering size. For landscaping appeal, the females are superior because they provide color over a much longer period while the seeds develop. In contrast, the male flower stalks turn straw-colored and wither after the flowering finishes. The color of the stalk and the seed pods on females is variable, and ranges from slightly red-tinged to quite red. The plant pictured is a hybrid between B. recurvata and B. stricta, both native to Mexico. This is its first flowering, so now we know that it is a female. Beaucarnea belongs the family Nolinaceae (or alternatively, the tribe Nolinoideae within the Asparagus Family).

-Brian