Asparagaceae FAMILY

Sansevieria aethiopica

Edibility

1/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial

Growth—

Sansevieria aethiopica is native to the tropics and subtropics of southern Africa where it grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome. It is not very frost hardy, though it can succeed outdoors in the mildest parts of the temperate zone if it is given a selected sunny position^[1]. Requires a very sunny position in a very well-drained sandy gritty loam^[1] and a pH between 6 and 7^[2]. Plants must be kept dry after they have flowered^[1]. Established plants are drought tolerant^[2].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a warm greenhouse in mid spring. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on for at least a couple of years in a greenhouse before trying any of them outdoors. Division of suckers as growth commences in the spring. Leaf-cuttings, 7cm long placed in sand in a frame^[3]. The leaf is cut into sections, the cut surfaces allowed to dry for a few hours, and the sections then placed in pots in a warm light frame, but with shelter from direct sunlight. Rooting and new growth should take place within a month. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Sansevieria+aethiopica>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

[1]Hardy Bulbs.; Including Half-hardy Bulbs and Tuberous and Fiberous-rooted Plants — Grey. C. H. · Williams & Norgate. · 1938 · ISBN - ↩︎Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.
[2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[3]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
[4]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
[5]Gemsbok Bean and Kalahari Truffle — Leffers A. · Gamsberg MacMillan; Namibia. · 2003 · ISBN 99916-0-491-X ↩︎Details of the traditional uses of over 200 species of plants in northeastern Namibia. Written for the non-expert, there is usually at least one photograph with each plant entry.
[6]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[7]Plants for Man. — Schery. R. W. ↩︎Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.
[PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎