Botany
Elephant foot tree is a very slow-growing evergreen shrub or tree. Bole is sparsely branched, up to 8 meters tall, topped by a terminal tuft of leaves, recurved, strap-shaped, and leathery, 2 meters long; base is flasked-shaped and swollen, up to 2 meters in diameter.

Distribution
- Ornamental cultivation worldwide.
- Native to Mexico.

Constituents
- Study of stems yielded seven steroidal saponins, five of which appeared to be new compounds and were assigned as spirosta-5,25(27)-diene-1 beta,3 beta-diol (neoruscogenin) 1-O--O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1--> 2)-O-[beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->3)]-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside-, (25S)-spirost-5-ene-1 beta,3 beta-diol [(25S)-ruscogenin] 1-O-{O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-O-[beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1--> 3)]-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside}, neoruscogenin 1-O-{O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-O-[beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1--> 3)]-beta-D-fucopyranoside}, 26-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-22-O-methylfurosta-5,25(27)-diene-1 beta,3 beta,22 xi,26-tetrol 1-O--O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1--> 2)-O-[beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->3)]-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside- and 26-O-beta-D-glucopyranosylfurosta-5,20(22),25(27)-triene-1 beta,3 beta,26-triol 1-O-{O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1--> 2)-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside}. (2)
- Study of fresh stems yielded three cholestane bisdesmosides:  (22S)-cholest-5-ene-1β, 3β, 16β, 22-tetrol 1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside 16-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (1), (22S)-cholest-5-ene-1β, 3β, 16β, 22-tetrol 1, 16-di-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2) and (22S)-cholest-5-ene-1β, 3β, 16β, 22-tetrol 1-O-{O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranoside} 16-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (3), respectively.  (see study below) (5)
- Study of stems isolated five new polyhydroxylated steroidal saponins, named recurvosides A-E. (9)

Properties
- Large swollen base can store water for long periods.
- Reported as a plant toxic to dogs.
- Considered a non-toxic plant, safe around pets and children in the home. It is ASPCS approved as non-toxic for dogs, cats, and horses. (See report on rabbit poisoning. (3)

Uses
Edibility
- Trunk reportedly edible, sometimes roasted and the interior portion eaten. (3)
Folkloric
- No reported medicinal use in the Philippines.
Others
- Fiber: Used for cordage.
- Crafts: Tough leaves used for thatching, making brooms, mats, hats, etc. (3)
- Cordage: Fiber used as rope.(3)

Studies
• Steroidal Saponins: Study of stems yielded seven steroidal saponins and were evaluated for inhibitory activity on cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase to identify new compounds with medicinal potential. (see constituents above) (2)
• Poisoning: Short communication reports on a pet rabbit poisoning attributed to ingestion of Beaucarnea recurvata. (4)
• Cholestane Bisdesmosides / Inhibitory Activity on cAMP / Stems: Study of fresh stems yielded three cholestane bisdesmosides. The isolated compounds and their derivatives were evaluated for inhibitory activity on cAMP phosphodiesterase and Na+/K+ ATPase. (see constituents above) (5)
• Chemical Composition / Cork: Plant has a thick corky outer bark. Study showed low suberin content and enhanced lignocellulosic nature. The lignin composition showed a HGS-type of lignin. Overall, it showed low amount of phenolics and unremarkable antioxidant content. (8)

Availability
- Ornamental cultivation.
- Seeds in the cybermarket.

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