| Protologue: |
Sansevieria 37: 6-11 (2018). |
| Subgenus: |
Paniculatus |
| Group: |
Sansevieria ehrenbergii |
| Etymology: |
Named for John J. Lavranos, a noted Greek botanist and plant collector resident in South Africa with a very broad expertise in unusual plants from throughout Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Lavranos was the original collector of this species (Lavranos 23295). |
| Distribution: |
Southern Somalia southwards into coastal eastern Kenya and possibly Tanzania. |
| Brief Description: |
Sansevieria lavranii is a mostly distichous, arborescent species with a 40 cm stem that forms dense stands from rhizomes. Immature leaves are similar in shape to mature leaves but much smaller. Mature plants produce 6 - 9 paired distichous and recurving leaves with a herringbone pattern of red-orange on a short stem. The leaves are numerous, lanceolate, 60-100 cm long by 10 cm wide, and are ascending to spreading. They are solid gray or green and smooth on both sides, channelled with a central groove on the upper side, narrow and stiff with three transverse grooves on each side, and a sharp orange-white tip. Other forms of this species are much larger, with plants upwards of 3 m tall observed in eastern Kenya. The inflorescence is about 75 cm tall and paniculate with1 - 5 flowers per cluster. |
| Similar Species: |
Sansevieria lavranii was described as a species to contain a number of plants with divergent characteristics in southern Somalia and eastern Kenya. Before this species was described, all these species were considered Sansevieria ehrenbergii, creating a species with extreme variability in form and geographic distribution. The current panoply of plants under this epithet ranges in color from gray to green and in size from under a meter tall to well over 3 meters. More field work is needed to ascertain whether this species should be separated into multiple species or subspecies. |
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Sansevieria lavranii in eastern Kenya. Toni Yocum provides scale for the height of the plant.
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Sansevieria lavranii (Lavranos 23295) in cultivation.
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A flowering specimen of Sansevieria lavranii (Lavranos 23295) in cultivation.
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Sansevieria lavranii, a larger green-leaf form planted in Gilfrid Powys garden at Suyian Farm, Kenya. The plants were originally collected from the Galana Ranch in eastern Kenya.
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A twisted leaf form of Sansevieria lavranii collected by the late Gilfrid Powys.
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