Botanical name |
Sansevieria pearsonii |
Other names |
Spiky mother-in-law's tongue; elephant's toothpick; gemsbokhoring |
Family |
Asparagaceae, previously Dracaenaceae and Liliaceae |
Dimensions |
Tufts of fan-shaped, spiky leaves, usually about 70 cm high |
Description of stem |
Leaves emerge directly from the rhizome |
Description of leaves |
Erect and rigid, pale green, cylindrical and grooved or ribbed with a sharp spiny tip |
Description of flowers |
Pale creamy tubes in a sturdy straight raceme up to 1 m tall, occurring in winter to spring |
Description of seed/fruit |
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Description of roots |
A creeping rhizome, causing the plant to spread and cover a few square meters in a spaced colony |
Variation |
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Propagation and cultivation |
A cutting with a piece of rhizome or divided rhizomes; low watering in a sandy spot; keep dry in winter; also grown from seed |
Tolerances |
Not very frost resistant; semi-hardy |
Uses |
An ornamental plant for xeriscaped gardens; there is a report of weaving ropes from the strong leaf fibers |
Ecological rarity |
Not threatened |
Pests and diseases |
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Other |
There exists or existed a journal by the name: Sansevieria (http://osdir.com) |
Location |
Dry bushveld areas, often found in barren looking places |
Distribution (SA provinces) |
Mpumalanga, Limpopo |
Country |
South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola |