| Protologue: |
Species Plantarum 1:321 (1753). |
| New Combination: |
Species Plantarum (C. Linné), 4th edition, 2(1): 159 (1799). |
| Subgenus: |
Sansevieria |
| Etymology: |
The epithet indicates the species is from Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. |
| Distribution: |
Sri Lanka and likely eastern India. |
| Brief Description: |
Short acaulescent shrub with ascending, flexible light yellow-green leaves that typically number 5-7 and are about 45-76 cm long and 0.9-2.1 cm wide. The leaves have a central channel, or gutter, and bear numerous longitudinal light green lines. The inflorescence is 55-65 cm tall and simple with 6 flowers per cluster. |
| Similar Species: |
This species could be confused with Sansevieria roxburghiana, a highly variable species from India, but that species tends to have narrower leaves. As well, Sansevieria ebracteata is a larger species with similar characteristics, except for its nearly cylindrical leaves. Sansevieria burmanica from Myanmar has a similar hábitat and leaf patterning but has wider leaves. Also, the similarity with Sansevieria grandicuspis cannot be ignored. |
| |
| |
Sansevieria zeylanica in cultivation
|
