Sansevieria - Muruva

Muruva, Sansevieria, snake plant

Sansevieria is a genus of about 70 species of flowering plants, native to Africa, Madagascar and southern Asia. Common names include mother-in-law's tongue, devil's tongue, jinn's tongue, bow string hemp, snake plant and snake tongue. It is often included in the genus Dracaena; in the APG III classification system, both genera are placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae (formerly the family Ruscaceae). It has also been placed in the former family Dracaenaceae.

Description

There is great variation within the genus, and species range from succulent desert plants such as Sansevieria pinguicula to thinner leafed tropical plants such as Sansevieria trifasciata. Plants often form dense clumps from a spreading rhizome or stolons.

The leaves of Sansevieria are typically arranged in a rosette around the growing point, although some species are distichous. There is great variation in foliage form within the genus. All species can be divided into one of two basic categories based on their leaves: hard leaved and soft leaved species. Typically, hard leaved Sansevieria originate from arid climates, while the soft leaved species originate from tropical and subtropical regions. Hard leaved Sansevieria have a number of adaptations for surviving dry regions.

The flowers are usually greenish-white, also rose, lilac-red, brownish, produced on a simple or branched raceme. The fruit is a red or orange berry. In nature, Sansevieria flowers are pollinated by moths, but both flowering and fruiting is erratic and few seeds are produced.

Sansevieria can be propagated by seed, leaf cutting, and division. Seeds are rarely used, as plants can normally be grown much faster from cuttings or divisions. As many cultivars are periclinal chimeras they don't propagate true to type from leaf cuttings, and therefore must be propagated by rhizome division to retain the variegation.

Uses

• In Africa, the leaves are used for fiber production; in some species, e.g. Sansevieria ehrenbergii, the plant's sap has antiseptic qualities, and the leaves are used for bandages in traditional first aid.
• Sansevieria use the crassulacean acid metabolism process, which absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen at night. This purportedly makes them suitable bedroom plants. However, since the leaves are potentially poisonous if ingested, Sansevieria is not usually recommended for children's bedrooms.

Common name

• English - bow string hemp

External Links

• Sansevieria