Beaucarnea are evergreen perennials, usually with a thick-barked, swollen caudex bearing a terminal rosette of tough, linear leaves, the margins often finely toothed or fibrous; tall panicles of tiny flowers are produced only on mature specimens
B. recurvata is an evergreen perennial to 2m or more, forming a bulbous trunk-like stem bearing a dense rosette of spreading to recurved, sword-shaped leaves to 1m in length. Panicles of small white flowers are rarely produced