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Sansevieria

Sansevieria
Photo: Kufundisha, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sansevieria is a historic genus of about 70 species, now mostly reclassified under Dracaena, with the common houseplant snake plant (Dracaena trifasciata, formerly Sansevieria trifasciata) the most widely grown. Most are drought-tolerant succulent-leaved plants that tolerate neglect, so the key to growing them is letting the soil dry out between waterings.

Family
Asparagaceae (Asparagus family)
Light
Bright indirect, Part shade
Water
Water thoroughly only when the soil is fully dry, roughly every 2 to 6 weeks, and less in winter.
Soil
Fast-draining cactus or succulent mix, or potting soil with added perlite or sand.
Temperature
18–29 °C; protect below 10 °C.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Mildly toxic: Leaves and rhizomes contain saponins that can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea if eaten.

About

Sansevieria is a historically recognized genus of flowering plants, native to Africa, notably Madagascar, and southern Asia, now included in the genus Dracaena on the basis of molecular phylogenetic studies. Common names for the 70 or so species formerly placed in the genus include mother-in-law's tongue, devil's tongue, jinn's tongue, bow string hemp, snake plant and snake tongue. In the APG III classification system, Dracaena is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Convallarioideae (formerly subfamily Nolinoideae); before that it was placed in family Ruscaceae. It has also been placed in the former family Dracaenaceae.

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sansevieria by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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