Operculicarya pachypus

[BronxFatty]

Back in 2013, I ordered a seedling plant of Operculicarya pachypus. This seedling measured about 12" tall, and had a thin, wiry trunk that might have measured 1/4" diameter at the base above the roots. Truly, no thicker than a wire coat-hanger.

Now, 7-8 years later that same seedling grew into a respectable bonsai tree with a trunk approaching 2" in diameter. I trained the top branches to resemble a Baobab, by cutting back the topmost branches and allowing ramification. The tree is coming along very nicely. The wiry branches need constant trimming, and wiring is a must to control the shape of the tree. Branches have a tendency to droop, so they must be wired into the corrected positions for effect. The dynamic tree puts on plenty of new growth each growing season, and lives quite easily through warmish, and dry, winter dormancy. It remains pliable and green under the bark, and starts right up when I start to give it some water, usually around Easter. It too, resurrects. My Bursera fagaroides is just as simple and care-free under the same conditions. (Two, caudex-trees I highly recommend, growing).

Back to the O. pachypus: However....the trunk never, or hasn't yet started to develop, the characteristic bottle shape. It actually looks more like its cousin- Operculicarya decaryi. I verified the pedigree from the grower and he assures me that he planted the correct seeds and sold me O. pachypus. He told me that both species have very similar growth patterns, but the flowers are different. My O. "pachypus" has never flowered so I have no way of knowing, or verifying, if I have the plant that I wanted. I once grew O. decaryi. Both species grow and look nearly identical, except for the typically, fatter trunks on O. pachypus. Leaves and twigs look ver similar, both show zig-zaging along the thin twigs. Both have leaves that turn reddish-black when grown in full sun. Both have warty bumps along their trunks, and both send out branches along the length of their trunks. I'm confused.

Besides the flowers...is there any sure way of identifying a O. decaryi from an O. pachypus? I trust the original grower's knowledge. He's a pro, and I'm not. Is it possible that I DO have a O. pachypus, and that I just need to wait for the fat trunk to develop as the plant ages?

School me. Any advice?

[BronxFatty]

Still need help with the identification and some easily observable differences between: O. pachypus vs. O. decaryii.

[mickthecactus]

A picture would be useful....

[mjanes]

I grow both decaryi and pachypus. Impossible to tell difference except for flowers. pachypus having yellow flowers, decaryi red.