Nope, not a tree. It's related to Agaves and Aloe, the best way to describe it is a succulent. It's about as close to a tree as a yucca is, which is also not a tree!
-Alex

i wonder what they both look like cut in half. i always want to shake mine and see if i hear the inside slush around like a coconut

Hi
Not certain the word "tree" has a definition Certainly not a botany term. The original classification of all flowering plants is based on magnolia because it's a "Classic example of what a flowerring plant looks like.
From there everything is based on what's different and then placed into families size the usual term for "tree" has nothing to do with it. palms are not grass nor are they cycads Very distinct differences most people call palms trees not even close lol If you want to classify plants by size why not most people do??? gary

I agree... a 'tree' is a tall plant. How tall? I really don't know.. when does a shrub become a tree? So I certainly think tall palms, Beaucarneas and aloes are trees... but they are not dicot trees.. .these are the monocot version of trees. But then is a giant saguaro a tree? It's a dicot... hmmm.

One of the first plants they told us about in horticulture school.

I believe the Ponytail palm(elephants foot)whatever you want to call it-has a dicot trunk and monocot leaves.

a tree is a perennial woody plant having a main trunk and usually a distinct crown.- webster's dictionary lol

so a "ponytail palm" can be described as a tree but not a palm :P

Hi
How about "Family tree" "Tree of life" or most amazing "Shoe tree" No plants involved lol
One term that has always bugged me is "Tree fern" Fern tree" WAYYY different things lol gary

The "Ponytail Palm," commonly called elephant-foot tree, nolina or bottle palm, is not a palm tree. Native to the deserts of Mexico, the unusual plant is a horticultural curious member of the lily family (Lilacea).

Yep,its a just a giant tropical Lilly.

I like their flowering.

Also,..they aren't not desert plants. Some Nolina are..but the Beaucarnea range is near Vera Cruz Mexico,among others. A Decent amount of rainfall. And the ponytail grows on fast draining hillsides(all second hand knowledge from reading) in full sun to shady conditions. Where,as you might expect, they can get massive and very old.. 1-2hundreds? of years or more.

Are not,I meant..missed it.

Depends on how you define "tree". In vernacular terms that usually means a tall plant with a woody trunk. By this definition lots of things are trees. A botanical definition would probably include secondary thickening of the trunk and branching somewhere above the ground (rather than at or near ground level, which would be a shrub). This would rule out most palms but honestly, even as a botanist I'm not going to tell people that palm trees aren't trees! (But palms are not grasses by ANY definition!)

BTW ponytail palms can get quite large--here's a photo I took at Lotusland in Santa Barbara, CA several years ago: