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SELF POLLINATION IN SANSEVIERIA

I just surprises me that the topic of autogamy (self-fertility) in
Sansevieria has over-shadowed the possible rediscovery of a long lost
species (Sansevieria varians N.E. Brown) and that the latter has gotten no
notice.

The genus Sansevieria has flowers that are adapted to pollination by
nocturnal moths. Many times pollination may occur in plants outdoors
without the grower observing it. There is always the possibility of the
resulting seeds being of hybrid origin when two ore more species or
different clones are in flower at the same time.

Yes, it is true that many species that are normally out crossers can become
self-fertile under stress but you should not read too much into that. The
resultant plants from inbreeding are often much weaker and less disease
resistant than those from pollination between different plants in a
population. I have noticed autogamy in several succulents in different
plant families, often under less than ideal conditions. I have even been
able to induce it the "Spider Plant" Chlorophytum comosum. It is a strategy
by which a population in the wild can re-establish itself from a single
individual survivor after some disaster. The resultant plants become part
of the re-established out crossing population.

One should not expect all the species in the genus to be self-fertile,
however.
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