Beaucarnea gracilis is a small dioecious tree or large shrublike succulent species with many slender, curving vertical stems, that emerge from a large beautiful globose woody base, it is related to the well-known ponytail plant (Nolina recurvata). The spreading base with its corky bark of much battered appearance, resembles a giant elephant's foot. It is also related to the Tree Yuccas and branched like them at the top. It can grow up to 3-5 m in height in the ground (but sometime it can reach imposing dimension up to 12 m overall)