Pachypodium lealii is short, thickset, succulent tree found in arid rocky areas in northern Namibia and southwestern Angola. This species is collected for the pachycaul trade and may be targeted for sale internationally. It is suspected that there may be less than 10,000 mature individuals of this species. Additionally, as the species is slow growing and sparsely distributed over a fairly large area, it is suspected that there may less than 1,000 mature individuals in each subpopulation. It is therefore assessed here as Vulnerable.

The species is found in arid parts of northern Namibia and Benguela and Namibe provinces in southern Angola (Coates Palgrave and Coates Palgrave 2002, Curtis and Mannheimer 2005, Figueiredo and Smith 2008), with a possible outlying record in northwestern Botswana (Setshogo 2005). The latter record is omitted here from calculations on extent of occurrence. The area of occupancy is much larger than that calculated here, and probably exceeds 2,000 km².

The species is said to be occasional in the northwest of Namibia and locally common in places (Curtis and Mannheimer 2005). There are concerns over the lack of young plants (Curtis and Mannheimer 2005). It is suspected that there may be less than 10,000 mature individuals of this species. Additionally, as the species is slow growing and sparsely distributed over a fairly large area, it is suspected that there may less than 1,000 mature individuals in each subpopulation.

Pachypodium lealii is a spiny, succulent shrub to small tree with a swollen trunk, from 1 to 8 m high (Coates Palgrave and Coates Palgrave 2002, Curtis and Mannheimer 2005, Bruyns 2014). It is found on arid rocky hillsides and in semi-arid sparse woodland, but always on rocky substrates (Coates Palgrave and Coates Palgrave 2002, Curtis and Mannheimer 2005, Bruyns 2014). In Namibia these substrates are mostly dolomite and basalt, but occasionally granite or schist (Curtis and Mannheimer 2005).

This is threatened by poaching for the pachycaul trade which is likely to increase into the future.

The latex has been used in arrow poisons (Coates Palgrave and Coates Palgrave 2002), and is also used medicinally in Namibia (Curtis and Mannheimer 2005). This species is collected for the pachycaul trade and may be targeted for sale internationally.

The species was assessed as Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc) for Namibia (Craven and Loots 2002) and was not listed on the Namibian Red List (Loots 2005). It is specifically protected in Namibia under the Nature Conservation Ordinance and is listed in CITES Appendix II (Curtis and Mannheimer 2005). The species is in a large number of ex situ collection (BGCI 2021). The impact of illegal harvesting needs to be researched.