Wig3000
January 26 Sansevieria trifasciata
Day 26 of my Fun-A-Day project. I'll be documenting, studying, and/or tending to plants in and around our home every day in January:
I just love this plant. I really do, and feel that it doesn't benefit from its common name of 'mother-in-law's tongue'. It's also known as 'snake plant' which it sort of resembles, so I'll give that a pass. This specimen has been with my lovely husband for longer than we've been together, so that is a long, long time. Not twenty years, but getting close! I've successfully divided it to the shade garden. Although the transplanted bit hasn't grown much, it's alive and looking good. The original potted plant has bloomed on numerous occasions, and as the blossoms are hard to spot, I've been left wondering where that tropical fragrance is coming from. I recognize it now, but it was quite the pleasant surprise early on.
Abbreviated info via Wikipedia:
Sansevieria trifasciata is a species of Sansevieria, native to tropical west Africa from Nigeria east to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is an evergreen herbaceous perennial plant forming dense stands, spreading by way of its creeping rhizome, which is sometimes above ground, sometimes underground. Its stiff leaves grow vertically from a basal rosette. Mature leaves are dark green with light gray-green cross-banding and usually range between 70–90 cm in length and 5–6 cm in width.
It is commonly called the snake plant because of the shape of its leaves, or mother-in-law's tongue because of their sharpness. In Brazil, it is commonly known as espada-de-são-jorge (sword-of-saint-george). Due to its blade-like shape, it is commonly associated with Ogun, the orisha of war (usually associated with Saint George), and is used in rituals to remove the evil eye. In Africa, the plant is used as a protective charm against evil or bewitchment.
Like some other members of its genus, S. trifasciata yields bowstring hemp, a strong plant fiber once used to make bowstrings.
It is now used predominantly as an ornamental plant, outdoors in warmer climates, and indoors as a houseplant in cooler climates. It is popular as a houseplant as it is tolerant of low light levels and irregular watering; during winter it needs only one watering every couple of months. It will rot easily if overwatered. A study by NASA found that it is one of the best plants for improving indoor air quality by passively adsorbing toxins such as nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde.
Numerous cultivars have been selected, many of them for variegated foliage with yellow or silvery-white stripes on the leaf margins. Popular cultivars include 'Compacta', 'Goldiana', 'Hahnii', 'Laurentii', 'Silbersee', and 'Silver Hahnii'.
It can be propagated by cuttings or by dividing the rhizome. The first method has the disadvantage that the variegation is likely to be lost.
January 26 Sansevieria trifasciata
Day 26 of my Fun-A-Day project. I'll be documenting, studying, and/or tending to plants in and around our home every day in January:
I just love this plant. I really do, and feel that it doesn't benefit from its common name of 'mother-in-law's tongue'. It's also known as 'snake plant' which it sort of resembles, so I'll give that a pass. This specimen has been with my lovely husband for longer than we've been together, so that is a long, long time. Not twenty years, but getting close! I've successfully divided it to the shade garden. Although the transplanted bit hasn't grown much, it's alive and looking good. The original potted plant has bloomed on numerous occasions, and as the blossoms are hard to spot, I've been left wondering where that tropical fragrance is coming from. I recognize it now, but it was quite the pleasant surprise early on.
Abbreviated info via Wikipedia:
Sansevieria trifasciata is a species of Sansevieria, native to tropical west Africa from Nigeria east to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is an evergreen herbaceous perennial plant forming dense stands, spreading by way of its creeping rhizome, which is sometimes above ground, sometimes underground. Its stiff leaves grow vertically from a basal rosette. Mature leaves are dark green with light gray-green cross-banding and usually range between 70–90 cm in length and 5–6 cm in width.
It is commonly called the snake plant because of the shape of its leaves, or mother-in-law's tongue because of their sharpness. In Brazil, it is commonly known as espada-de-são-jorge (sword-of-saint-george). Due to its blade-like shape, it is commonly associated with Ogun, the orisha of war (usually associated with Saint George), and is used in rituals to remove the evil eye. In Africa, the plant is used as a protective charm against evil or bewitchment.
Like some other members of its genus, S. trifasciata yields bowstring hemp, a strong plant fiber once used to make bowstrings.
It is now used predominantly as an ornamental plant, outdoors in warmer climates, and indoors as a houseplant in cooler climates. It is popular as a houseplant as it is tolerant of low light levels and irregular watering; during winter it needs only one watering every couple of months. It will rot easily if overwatered. A study by NASA found that it is one of the best plants for improving indoor air quality by passively adsorbing toxins such as nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde.
Numerous cultivars have been selected, many of them for variegated foliage with yellow or silvery-white stripes on the leaf margins. Popular cultivars include 'Compacta', 'Goldiana', 'Hahnii', 'Laurentii', 'Silbersee', and 'Silver Hahnii'.
It can be propagated by cuttings or by dividing the rhizome. The first method has the disadvantage that the variegation is likely to be lost.