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Elephant bush

Portulacaria afra, Didiereaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called porkbush, rainbow bush, spekboom and tree purslane.

Elephant bush (Portulacaria afra), the whole plant.
Daderot, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Light
Full sun, Partial shade
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Well-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

Most foliage plants prefer more humidity than a heated room gives; succulents are named as an exception
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H1B — 10–15°C 10–15 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
From mid-spring to mid-autumn water well; at other times keep nearly dry.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
In spring, take softwood cuttings, rooting stem sections over bottom heat.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Needs little pruning; see pruning group 1.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Scale insects can attack it. Disease is uncommon.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

Loading the simulator. It needs JavaScript; the care table above does not.

Close view of Elephant bush (Portulacaria afra) foliage.
Close upSalicyna, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Elephant bush (Portulacaria afra) growing in a pot.
In a potSatirdan kahraman, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Portulacaria afra is a small-leaved succulent plant found in South Africa. These succulents commonly have a reddish stem and green leaves, but a variegated cultivar is often seen in cultivation. They are simple to care for and make easy houseplants for a sunny location. In frost-free regions they may be used in outdoor landscaping.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
NW. Kenya, S. Mozambique to S. Africa
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Climate
subtropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
succulent shrub
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Bushy (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 1.5-2.5 metres; spread 1-1.5 metres after 10–20 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers pink in summer
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.