The scientific name derives from the 19th century Portuguese geologist Fernando da Costa Leal, who described the bottle tree during an exploration in southern Angola.

This species can be either a shrub or a tree up to 6 meters tall and is characterized by the thick bottle-shaped trunk, which is almost branchless until the top.

The plant produces a watery latex, rich in toxic alkaloids, used by local populations as arrow poison for hunting.

The bottle tree is an endemic species of Namibia and southern Angola where it occupies the semi-desert areas and dry bushvelds, usually along rocky hillsides.

[1] Pachypodium lealii doesn't appear to be under significant threat, but the lack of young specimens, and the removal of wild plants for trade, is a concern in Namibia.