Caudiciform tree, drought deciduous. The Ficus palmeri grows in the wild in rocky cliffs. They develop a thick trunk that can be spectacular as bonsai or as a specimen tree. Will loose its leaves if kept too dry, which is the mechanism it uses in nature.

Rock figs are a legacy of the tropical origins of the Sonoran Desert. They are a kind of strangler fig. Tropical strangler fig seedlings start life as epiphytes high on the branches of host trees. The fig roots encircle the host's trunk and eventually reach the ground. The roots then enlarge and squeeze the host tree's trunk while the upper branches overshadow it and starve it for light. The host dies and rots, leaving a hollow giant fig tree.