| Protologue: |
CactusWorld 36(4): 261-265 (2018). |
| Etymology: |
This species is named for Thomas Cole, an agricultural advisor from the United States who works in Africa and collected this species in Uganda. |
| Subgenus: |
Sansevieria |
| Group: |
Sansevieria dawei |
| Distribution: |
Northern Uganda ranging from east central part of the country to the Congolese border. |
| Brief Description: |
This acaulescent and rhizomatous broad-leaf species has 2 - 6 flexible, smooth leaves per rosette. These leaves are 30-65 cm long and 2.8-4 cm wide with green margins bearing a thin white edge. The leaves are spreading to ascending (some are recurved) and linear lanceolate in form, and they narrow downwards to a channelled petiole and have a soft green tip. The leaves are green to whitish green and are conspicuously marked with lighter white and green banding (the whitish bands tend to be wider). The inflorescence is 43-71 cm tall with 1 - 4 flowers per cluster. The length of the inflorescence, much longer than the leaves, seems to distinguish this species. |
| Similar Species: |
The protologue compares Sansevieria coleana to Sansevieria subtilis, but that species tends to generally lack the banding and mottling of S. coleana. Like Sansevieria lineata, another species from Uganda, this species seems to have some affinity with species from West Africa. |
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Sansevieria coleana flowering at its type locality in Uganda (photograph by Tom Cole).
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