Dioscorea elephantipes (turtle plant)

Dioscorea elephantipes not only looks like a tortoise, but also lives to be as old.
Plants in cultivation that are decades old have caudex diameters of 30-50 cm, even older specimens in nature can reach over a meter and are then worth a fortune.
In other words, an easy-to-maintain and growing investment.
This extraordinary plant is found only in South Africa. It grows there in very barren, sandy soil and often has to survive for months without water.
Therefore, it doesn't grow year-round, but rather limits its growth phase to about half the year, after which it sheds all its leaves and branches. During the subsequent dormant phase, the caudex survives the rainless period and requires no care, even as a houseplant. Eventually, the plant begins to form new tendrils, which quickly grow in size and bear numerous heart-shaped leaves approximately 5 cm in diameter. With each growth phase, the caudex becomes larger.
A survivor of the Cape peninsula.