Elephant's Food

Description:

Portulacaria afra is a soft-wooded, semi-evergreen upright shrub or small tree, usually 2.5 to 4.5 or more meters tall. Similar in appearance to the Jade Plant ( Crassula argentea or C. arborea, family Crassulaceae, order Rosales or Saxifragales ), P. afra has smaller and rounder pads and more compact growth (shorter internodal spaces, down to even 1.5 mm). It is much hardier, faster growing, more loosely branched, and has more limber tapering branches than Crassula.

Habitat:

Semi-arid urban setting. Plant is endemic to South Africa but grows easily in any Mediterranean climate zone (Zone 10 in U.S.)