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Operculicarya hyphaenoides (Jabihy) - A slow growing winter deciduous shrub or small low branched treelike plant to 5 feet tall with thick gnarled trunks. It has inch long pinnately compound leaves with tiny dark green leaflets that have revolute margins and raised venation on the underside with fine hairs. When mature it produces small greenish red flowers.
Plant in full to part sun in a well-draining soil with occasional to infrequent irrigation. It appears hardy to winter temperatures experienced in coastal southern California but likely would need protection elsewhere. A great plant for its natural bonsai-like appearance.
Operculicarya hyphaenoides grows in a small area around in the province of Toliara in southwestern Madagascar. It was first described in 1944 by the French botanist Joseph Marie Henry Alfred Perrier de la Bāthie (1873-1958) who specialized in the plants of Madagascar. His name as abbreviated H.Perrier is most familiar to those interested in Malagasy plants since many plants from there are named for him. The name for the genus is from the Latin word 'operculum' meaning a "small lid" and the Greek word 'karya' for a "nut tree" in reference to the operculate nut-like seeds. The genus has eight species of which seven are endemic to Madagascar with the eighth, O. gummifera, found in Madagascar and on the Comoros Islands. The specific epithet of this species is a reference to the palm genus Hyphaene with the Greek suffix 'oides' indicating this plant resemblance to Hyphaene.
The plants we have at the nursery of this species are seedlings raised by Joe Stead, instructor in the Horticulture Department at Orange Coast College at Orange Coast College that Joe grew from stock plants he hand pollinated. We also grow the larger Malagasy Elephant Tree, Operculicarya decaryi.
The information about Operculicarya hyphaenoides that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.
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