Ok, so I've been doing online research on the care of my newly-acquired "Money Tree", and I've come up with all sorts of conflicting information, which is perhaps why this seems to be such a problematic plant for so many people. Is there anyone out there who could please help me sort this out?

Mine was labeled as a Pachira macrocarpa, not the Pachira aquatica that most seem to be. But then I found a site that said that they were the same thing. After doing more searching, it appears that there are two types, one that grows in marshlands (which I would think would be aquatica, since aqua=water), and one that grows in arid climates. Very confusing if you're trying to properly water it.

Someone had remarked to me that the leaves on mine seemed longer and pointier than the ones they'd seen, which looked more like a scheff, and I found photos of each online, both labeled as Pachira aquatica.

Then, to make it all the more confusing, when I Googled just 'macrocarpa', it brought up a kind of cypress (and a big fish LOL)! Searching synonyms like Malabar Chestnut and French Peanut brought up even more conflicting information.

Basically, does anyone know if there is more than one type, and if there is, this there a way to tell (leaf shape/size, trunk pattern, etc)? Any help in sorting this out would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Ellen