synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
''Sansevieria kirkii'', also known as star sansevieria, is a
succulent
In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...
plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...
native to
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
and the surrounding region in
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historical ...
.
Description
The leaves are flattened and thick (at least 9mm), with wavy edges.
''Dracaena pethera'' grows stemless as a perennial, succulent plant with strong rhizomes. The simple leaf blade is from 7.5 to 27.5 inches long and from 6 to 9 inches wide. It gradually narrows from about the middle into a 8.5—12.7 millimeter long pale whitish brown and hard spider tip. The leaves are whitish brown, greyish green, speckled or light green transversely banded, with three to nine dark green longitudinal lines. The leaf margin is wavy and reddish brown. The leaf surface is smooth. The ''pulchra'' variety has clearly more marked and partially prostrate leaves, with whitish green, buff-colored or almost reddish spots or irregular bands.
The flower of ''Dracaena pethera'' is greenish-white, scented, and is carried on a conical
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
.
File:Sansevieria kirkii var. pulchra2157832131.jpg, Flowers
File:Sansevieria kirkii - inflorescence (5648842278).jpg, In habitat
File:Sansevieria kirkii pm2.jpg, Botanical illustration