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Manihot grahamii |
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| | Just planted – about 5 ft tall |
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| Common name |
hardy tapioca tree |
| Family |
euphorbiaceae |
| Life cycle |
shrub/small tree (Z7-11)  |
| Flowers |
green (summer) |
| Size |
12-15' |
| Light |
sun-light shade |
| Cultural notes |
drought-tolerant |
Fast-growing winter-deciduous small tree from South America with attractively shaped palmate leaves that tremble in the wind. It is hardier than its edible cousin (M. esculenta, commonly grown in variegated form), but sports a similar leaf shape and overall form. In Houston's climate, it is reported to be trunk-hardy, but my research suggested it may still benefit from some judicious pruning in late winter to keep the size and shape manageable. The nurseryman who sold it to me said it will self-seed too, but this hasn't yet happened in our garden: it reliably blooms in late spring, and starts growing seedpods – but these seem to always disappear before they ripen up. Could be the work of birds, but I suspect it's just that our tree prematurely aborts its reproductive efforts.
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Our specimen lost its leaves on one of its main branches in autumn, well before the weather turned cold. After a frost arrived, the rest of the leaves dropped. I hoped that this was its normal leaf drop pattern, with foliage returning in spring; the little tree looked awfully lifeless and frail. I was even more concerned after the Texas megafreeze killed many trees and shrubs – but was happy to see signs of new growth near the top of the main leaders a few weeks later, leaving just a few inches of deadwood above it. The same pattern repeated in subsequent years, which means the tree hasn't gotten any taller since its first couple of years in the garden, but quickly puts out new growth in mid-spring to resume its parasol look in the garden.
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| | Promising growth returning a few weeks after big freeze... |
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| | ...which developed into full leaves by another two weeks later |
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| | Smooth plump buds in early June... |
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| | ...soon turning to seedpods with orange bands |
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| | As the pods grow, the orange disappears |
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| | More flowers in year three, higher up in the tree |
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In the heat of summer, our tree is constantly shedding leaves: they suddenly go yellow and droopy, and drop soon afterwards. I don't know what causes this; a fellow gardener suggested drought stress, but this was happening even at times when rainfall was plentiful.
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In our garden, this plant grows in the following area: north foundation border About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Manihot grahamii
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Marc | Sep 12, 2021 | I have two 10 footers with seed pods. I would like to share some seeds, when should they be cut off the plant, as I understand they explode!! Marc #eyebrowhousepdx
My specimen bloomed and started to form a seed pod, but then dropped it – so I haven't seen ripened seed yet. Hopefully next year... |
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Last modified:
May 12, 2025
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