If you would like to support this site, please consider Donating.
Useful Tropical Plants

Sansevieria forskaliana

(Schult. & Schult.f.) Hepper & J.R.I.Wood

Asparagaceae


It has been proposed by Pei-Luen Lu1 & Clifford W. Morden( in Phylogenetic Relationships among Dracaenoid Genera (Asparagaceae: Nolinoideae) Inferred from Chloroplast DNA Loci, Systematic Botany (2014), 39(1): pp. 90-104, DOI 10.1600/036364414X678035), that the genus Sansevieria should be transferred to the genus Dracaena. This treatment has not yet been taken up universally and so, for the time being, we are leaving Sansevieria as distinct. The proposed new name in Dracaena can be seen below in the list of synonyms.
We have seen this name spelled in three different ways. We are following the spelling in Kew's 'World Checklist of Selected Plant Families', but have also seen the name spelled Sansevieria forskoliana (in Tropicos) and Sansevieria forskaoliana (in Wikipedia).

+ Synonyms

Acyntha abyssinica (N.E.Br.) Chiov.

Acyntha elliptica Chiov.

Convallaria racemosa Forssk.

Dracaena forskaliana (Schult. & Schult.f.) Byng & Christenh.

Sansevieria abyssinica N.E.Br.

Sansevieria elliptica (Chiov.) Cufod.

Smilacina forskaliana Schult. & Schult.f.

Common Name:

Sansevieria forskaliana
Cultivated plant
Photograph by: Peter A. Mansfeld
Creative Commons License

General Information

Sansevieria forskaoliana is a stemless evergreen perennial plant, producing clusterns of succulent, erect, rigid leaves up to 60cm or more long and 75mm wide from a rhizomatous rootstock[
500
Title
Flora of Somalia
Publication
 
Author
Thulin M. (Editor)
Publisher
Kew Publishing, London.
Year
1993
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the plants of the region, often adding notes on the plants uses.
]. The leaves are often variegated[
500
Title
Flora of Somalia
Publication
 
Author
Thulin M. (Editor)
Publisher
Kew Publishing, London.
Year
1993
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the plants of the region, often adding notes on the plants uses.
]. The flowering stem grows 75cm or more tall[
500
Title
Flora of Somalia
Publication
 
Author
Thulin M. (Editor)
Publisher
Kew Publishing, London.
Year
1993
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the plants of the region, often adding notes on the plants uses.
].
The plant is gathered from the wild for the fibre obtained from its leaves. This is used locally.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Range

E. Africa - DR Congo and Tanzania to Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia, to Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Habitat

Dry or evergreen bushland, grassland, escarpments, dry rocky places, Combretaceous woodland with tall grasses, riverine vegetation, also under trees and shrubs; at elevations up to 2,200 metres[
328
Title
African Flowering Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
Publisher
Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
].

Properties

Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitEvergreen Perennial
Height0.65 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details


Requires a sunny position in a well-drained soil[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Established plants are very drought tolerant[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
This species is very variable in size, number and colour of leaves in different habitats; in drier areas the leaves may reach only 40cm in height, in wetter places up to 100cm[
328
Title
African Flowering Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
Publisher
Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

A fibre is obtained from the leaves[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
]. It is used for making string.

Propagation

Seed -
Division of the rootstock.
Leaf cuttings. Cut the leaf into sections about 5cm long, place in a 2:1 mix of sand and peat in a propagating case with a bottom heat of 18°c[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-10. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Sansevieria+forskaliana>

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.