| Protologue: |
Hooker's Icones Plantarum Series 4, 10(4): tab 3000 (1913). |
| Subgenus: |
Sansevieria |
| Group: |
Sansevieria suffruticosa |
| Etymology: |
This species honors Mrs. Louisa Lort-Phillips, a Norwegian who collected plants in Somalia in the late 19th century. |
| Distribution: |
Northern and eastern Somalia and neighboring regions of Somalia. |
| Brief Description: |
A short acaulescent species, these plants occur in clumps to 38 cm tall and spreading by stolons up to 25 cm long and a 1.2 cm wide, and the plants branch at or above the base. The smooth leaves typically number 5 - 10 and are about 46 cm long and 1.9-2.5 cm thick. They are rosulate, ascending and spreading, and are cylindrical with a deep channel on the upper surface for 16-26 cm at the base with a sharp tip. The leaves are a dark and slightly bluish-green with faint transverse paler green bands when young. The inflorescence is 24 cm tall and simple with 6 flowers per cluster. |
| Similar Species: |
This species is a member of the Sansevieria suffruticosa group and has larger (but thinner) leaves than S. suffruticosa and smaller leaves than S. bella. The leaf color is much darker than either Sansevieria gracilis or S. gracillima, making this species rather distinctive in the group. |
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Sansevieria phillipsiae flowering in cultivation.
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