Elephant Bush

Appearance

It is a soft-wooded, semi-evergreen upright shrub or small tree, usually 2.5–4.5 metres tall. Similar in appearance to the "jade plant" ''Crassula ovata' , ''P. afra'' has smaller and rounder pads and more compact growth. It is much hardier, faster growing, more loosely branched, and has more limber tapering branches than ''Crassula'' once established.

Within the genus ''Portulacaria'', it has been shown to be an outlier, relatively unrelated to the other species in the genus, which are all restricted to small ranges in the arid far west of southern Africa.

Naming

It is popular as an indoor bonsai, and as a hardy xeriscaping plant.
Several varieties exist - some bred in cultivation, others naturally occurring:

⤷  "Limpopo": A variety with much larger leaves. It is the natural form from the far north of the species' range.
⤷  "Prostrata": A low-lying, decumbent form that is frequently used as a ground-cover.
⤷  "Aurea": A compact, upright form with rounded leaves that go bright yellow in the sun.
⤷  "Foliis variegatus": A variegated form.
⤷  "Medio-picta": Variegated with a lighter centre.

Distribution

It is very widespread in the east of South Africa . In this moist climate, it is relatively rare, and tends to favour dryer rocky outcrops and slopes.

It is also found in much denser numbers in the dryer southern Cape. Here it occurs from the "Little Karoo" of the Western Cape, eastwards up until the thicket vegetation of the Eastern Cape. Spekboom is found most prolifically in the Albany thickets, a woodland ecoregion, which locally is often called ', after the high number of succulent ''Euphorbia'' species, which are often called ' plants.

Habitat

In the wilds of South Africa, large plants do survive the winter frosts by growing dense enough to provide their own natural cover. Drought-tolerant and fire-resistant, it will endure desert sun and heat once established.

Uses

In southern Africa it is commonly eaten, usually as one component of a salad or a soup.