Sansevieria trifasciata Prain
Family
Dracaenaceae
Synonyms
Sansevieria guineensis auct., Sansevieria zeylanica auct. non (L.) Willd.
Vernacular Names
|
Malaysia |
Lidah buaya. |
|
English |
African bowstring hemp, snake plant, mother-in-Iaw’s tongue. |
|
Indonesia |
Lidah buaya (Malay), letah bayawak (Sundanese), lidah mertua. |
|
Thailand |
Waan hang suea (general), waan chakhe (northern), lin naakkharaat (Bangkok). |
|
Vietnam |
H[ood v[ix], l[uw][owx]i c[oj]p s[oj]c. |
|
French |
Chanvre d’Afrique. |
Geographical Distributions
Sansevieria trifasciata is native to tropical Africa and is widely grown as an ornament, e.g. in Indo-China, Indonesia (Java) and Malaysia. It is cultivated as a fibre plant in tropical regions and has often escaped from cultivation. S. trifasciata is reported to be cultivated for its fibre in the Philippines.
Description
Sansevieria trifasciata is sympodial rhizome, robust and yellowish-red.There are 2-6 leaves in each plant. They are much broader than thick, fleshy to rigidly coriaceous, dark green, with very conspicuous numerous, light or greyish-green, irregularly confined transverse bonds and narrow dark green margin in the normal form.The large leaves are linear lance-shaped, measuring 40-175 cm x 2.5-9 cm, with channelled base, entire margins and acute at apex. The (peduncle included) raceme is 40-75 cm long and erect.
The flower fascicles are scattered or arranged group-wise. The pedicel is 6-8 mm long and articulates at about the middle. The perianth is 2.5-3 cm long, greenish-white, scented and divided just below the middle. The lobes are narrowly linear and broaden towards the greenish tip. The stamens are 7-8 mm long while the style is 15-18 mm long.
The fruit is spherical, measures 7-9 mm in diametre, orange and 1-2-seeded. The cream-brown seed is globular-ellipsoid and measures 6-7 mm x 5 mm.
Ecology / Cultivation
In Java, Sansevieria trifasciata is found up to 1000 m altitude.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No.17: Fibre plants.
