ponytail palm; elephant's foot
A succulent plant native to Mexico, often grown as a houseplant in Japan. The name comes from the swollen base resembling a sake bottle (徳利).
The ponytail palm is a drought-tolerant houseplant.
I've been growing this ponytail palm for ten years.
Katakana spelling is standard for this plant name; usually written in kana.
Kanji spelling is rare; the plant is almost always written in kana.
From 徳利 (とっくり, sake bottle) + 蘭 (らん, orchid), referring to the bottle-shaped trunk. The plant is not a true orchid.