Description
Operculicarya pachypus, commonly known as Elephant-leg lacquer tree, is a small deciduous thick-stemmed tree in the lacquer tree family. The trunk is conical to irregular pyramidal in shape, with a diameter that can reach 50 centimeters, and its bark is silvery-grey with a textured surface. The leaves are composed of 3–4 pairs of round to teardrop-shaped small leaflets, measuring 13–3.6 centimeters in length, and have a glossy surface. Yellow-green small flowers (less than 2 millimeters in diameter) bloom at the end of winter, and the species is dioecious. The fruit is a slightly flattened spherical structure with a stalk 3–4 millimeters long. Propagation of the Elephant-foot lacquer tree is a technical challenge. Because the species is dioecious, natural pollination is difficult, and even when successful, each pod contains only one seed. Professional growers usually use cutting propagation, but the survival rate is less than 30 percent. Professor Li, a succulent specialist at the Beijing Botanical Garden, explained that this plant requires very good soil drainage, and overwatering easily leads to root rot. During winter it must remain dry and the temperature must not fall below 15 degrees Celsius.
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