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More notes on Sansevierias of India and Sri Lanka

More notes on Sansevierias of India and Sri Lanka

Stephen Jankalski

While re-establishing my One-list links, I stumbled upon the
Sansevieriasasahobby forum and managed to look around. Although that
adventure proved to be very short lived, I did manage to find something
that is of particular interest.

John Gamesby posted a number of pictures of Sansevierias he had gotten when
he visited Sri Lanka in 1997. What I saw confirmed my suspicions about the
species native there. His 'Kandy', A03-97 and B03-97 (all from Paradeniyka
Botanical Garden) are actually all Sans.ebracteata. His B01-97 (from
Anaradhapura) may well be the real Sans.zeylanica but from the photo, one
cannot see if the back of the leaves have the deep grooves diagnostic for
that species.

I've long suspected that the plant photographed by Victor Turececk in
Dambula, Sri Lanka (Sansevieria Journal 4 (1): 36, fig. 3 (1995)) is
Sans.ebracteata and now that appears certain because it is the same species
he saw at the Paradeniyka Botanical Garden where John Gamesby got his
plants. Manny Singer grew Victor's collection in California and sold it as
Sans.zeylanica, so there may be many plants in cultivation masquerading
under the latter name. Kirk Pamper obtained it misidentified as
Sans.roxburghiana.

There appears to be several different clones of Sansevieria ebracteata in
the trade and in collections.

Dambula, Sri Lanka - collected by Victor Turecek

'Kandy', A03-97, B03-97 all from Paradeniya Botanical Garden in Kandy, Sri
Lanka and grown by John Gamesby in 1997.

Banipur, India (SJPI A023) - collected by Gerald Barad, March 1975.

Tall Kumbakarai, India - collected by R.Haresh

Madura, India - collected by R.Haresh

There are also several numbers in the Huntington Botanical Garden assigned
to Sans.zeylanica or Sans.roxburghiana, some of which may be
Sans.ebracteata and possibly the same as the collection cited above. (HBG
61041, 61048, 61049, 61145('Zebra Fountain'), 65343, 69899) Anyone know
their true identities?

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A key for identifying the species known to occur in India and Sri Lanka.

A. Central leaves of adult plants 15-25 mm. thick at the middle, ascending
or erect, rather rigid, with several prominent channels down the back.
   B. Leaves recurving toward the upper part, flattened in upper portion,
smooth to roughened.
Sansevieria zeylandica (L.) Willdenow, Sp. Pl. 2: 159 (1797)
syn. Aloe hyacinthoides (var.) (alpha) zeylandica Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 321
(1753)
     Aloe zeylandica Jacquin, Enum. Stirp. Vindobon. 310 (1762)
     Aletris hyacinthoides (var.) (alpha) zeylandica Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2:
456 (1762)
     Aletris zeylandica Miller, Gard. Dict. (Ed. 8) no. 4 (1768)
     Sansevieria ceylonica Oken, Allg. Naturgesch. 3 (1): 565 (1891)
     Sansevieria indica Herter, Estud. Bot. Reg. Urug. 24: 218 (1956) nom.
illegit.
     Sansevieria ceylandica hort.

   BB. Leaves straight, semicircular and quite thickened for their entire
length, verrucose roughened.
Sansevieria ebracteata (Cavanilles) Suresh in Nicholson, Suresh & Manilal,
Interpret. Van Rheede's Hort. Malab. 271 (1988)
syn. Salmia ebracteata Cavanilles, Icon. Pl. Hisp. 3: 24 (1794)
     Sansevieria lanuginosa Willdenow, Sp. Pl. 2: 160 (1797) nom. illegit.
     Aletris zeylandica var. (beta) Lamarck, Encycl. Meth. Bot. 1 (1): 79
(1783)
(type: Rheede, Hort. Malabar. 9: 83, tab. 42 (1692), reproduced in the
Sansevieria Journal 1 (2): 20, fig. 1 (1992))

AA. Central leaves of adult plants 9-13 mm. thick at the middle, lineate to
faintly channeled down the back, smooth.
   C. Central leaves suberectly or ascendingly recurving, concavely
channeled, rather stiff, shiny green in color.
Sansevieria roxburghiana Schultes, f., Syst. Veg. 7: 357 (1829)
syn. Sansevieria zeylandica Roxburgh, Pl. Corom. 2: 43, t.184 (1805) not
Willdenow (1799) (illustration reproduced in Kew Bulletin 1887 (5): 4, fig.
(1887))

   CC. Central leaves strongly erect, flattish with a slight angular
channel, flexible, dull green in color.
Sansevieria burmanica N.E. Brown, Kew Bulletin 1915 (5): 48-50, fig. 12
(1915)
syn. Sansevieria roxburghiana J.D. Hooker, Curtis's Bot. Mag. 122: t.7487
(1896) not Schultes, f. (1829)
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