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Re: frosty spears

Dear Kirk,

You've convinced me that 'Frosty Spears' agrees much better with the
original Sans.phillipsiae N.E. Brown (in the Sans.suffruticosa group) than
Sans.varians N.E. Brown. The flowers would definitely provide more proof.

Now if only someone can provide some info as to the origin of 'Frosty
Spears'.

Besides the original Sans.phillipsiae from Somalia, there is also an
impostor from Ethiopia that has been passing for that species that I prefer
to call Sans. 'McLoughlin' for its collector. It is quite different from
the original Sans.phillipsiae in its growth habit, leaf texture and
flowers. Does anyone out there have this plant in their collection?

****************************************
Sansevieria phillipsiae N.E. Brown in Hooker's Icon. Plant. 30: t.3000
(1913) Somalia - collected by Mrs. Lort Phillips in 1900, without precise
locality.

Stems not columnar, offsetting with aerial stolons; leaves distichous
(arranged like a fan), smooth, faintly striate marked; corolla tube 1 cm.
long with free lobes 1.1-1.2 cm long.

****************************************
Sansevieria  'McLoughlin'
Syn. Sansevieria phillipsiae sensu R.A. Dyer & E.A. Bruce, Fl. Pl. Afr. 28
(1): pl. 1090 (1950), sensu Swinbourne, Sansevieria in Cultivation in
Australia 16, 41, fig. 25 (1979) not N.E. Brown (1913)
(? Sensu Teketay, Sansevieria Journal 4 (2): 49 (1995))
Ethiopia - Collected by Major A.G. McLoghlin (Nat. Herb., Pretoria,  no.
27195)

Differs from S.phillipsiae N.E. Brown by stems being columnar, offsetting
basally, not stoloniferous; leaves spiraled, scabrous roughened,
prominently striate marked and corolla tube 2-2.8 cm. long with free lobes
1.5-1.7 cm long.

Cereusly Steve

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
•Subject: Re: [SANS] frosty spears
•From: Kirk Pamper
•Date: Wed, 6 Oct 1999 21:24:17 EDT
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a message dated 10/5/99 8:06:30 AM Central Daylight Time,
CEREOID@PRODIGY.NET writes:

<<
 Does the channel on the upper side of the leaf run all the way to the leaf
 tip (as in Sans.pearsonii group) or only near the leaf base (as in
 Sans.suffruticosa group)?
  >>

Hi Steve,

In 'Frosty Spears', the first 2 or 3 small leaves on a young plant have a
channel which runs all the way to the tip.  As more leaves emerge, the
channel is less and less developed, until the last several leaves, which
are
perfectly cylindrical and without a channel, emerge.  These mature stage
leaves have longutidinal lines all the way around the leaf surface, and the
leaf surface is smooth.

This description matches another plant I have labeled as phillipsiae, the
only difference being that 'Frosty Spears" produces new leaves which are
silvery-white in color, and which darken to sort of a pea green color with
age (like t. silver laurentii).

Both these plants seem consistent with Brown's description of phillipsiae,
although I haven't seen flowers yet.

Later.
Kirk.
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