I'd love to see a picture of the base which should be swelling (hence the 'elephantipes' name). It will be really beautiful when it gets pruned up!

Hetty: I'm going to try to prune off the ugly, dead leaves tomorrow and will take a better photo. I'm not sure how old they have to be before they get the thick/swollen base but only mature plants have that form. My plants were cuttings from a neighbor and have only been in the ground about three years now.

They may not get the swollen base when they are cuttings, I should investigate that!

I always thought they got the swollen base once they matured but I have no idea how old they have to be before that happens.