''Dracaena zeylanica'' is a species of flowering plant in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae, known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, ''Asparagus officinalis''. Those who live in the temperate c ...

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to southern India and Sri Lanka. It is better known under the

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 zeylanica''.

Misidentifications

Early in the 20th century, ''

Dracaena trifasciata ''Dracaena trifasciata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to tropical West Africa from Nigeria east to the Congo. It is most commonly known as the snake plant, Saint George's sword, mother-in-law's tongue, and v ...

'' was incorrectly called ''Sansevieria zeylanica'' in the literature. Non-variegated forms of ''

'' are still often traded as ''Sansevieria zeylanica'', but the true ''Dracaena zeylanica'' is poorly known and uncommon in cultivation. ''Dracaena zeylanica'' is a leafier plant (10-16 leaves per rosette, versus generally 2–4 in ''Dracaena trifasciata''), and its leaves lack a petiole, instead becoming only slightly narrower at the base. In ''D. trifasciata'', leaves become narrower and thickened towards the bottom, forming a concave channel at the base of the leaves.

References

zeylanica Flora of India (region) Flora of Sri Lanka {{Asparagaceae-stub