Practical
Plants

Sanseviera aethiopica

Bowstring Hemp

a perennial evergreen member of the Sanseviera genus in the family Agavaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Family
Agavaceae
Life cycle
perennial
Foliage
evergreen
Height
0.6 m
Flower type
hermaphrodite

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The rhizome is a source of water[2]. This is presumably of some use in the arid areas of its native range, but of rather limited benefit in Britain[K].

Product or use
Drink

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

A high quality fibre is obtained from the leaves. It is used for making sails and paper[1][4][5][6].

Product or use
Fibre

Environment

Range
Tropical Africa.
Habitat
Not known
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 10+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerances
drought
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
tolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a warm greenhouse in April. 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[1]. 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.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Requires a very sunny position in a very well-drained sandy gritty loam[4] and a pH between 6 and 7[3]. This species is not very frost hardy, though it can succeed outdoors in the mildest parts of the country if it is given a selected sunny position[4]. Plants must be kept dry after they have flowered[4]. There is a lot of confusion between this species, S. roxburghiana. Schult. from India and S. zeylanica. (L.)Willd. from Sri Lanka[3]. It is most likely that they all have similar uses, though none of them are likely to be very hardy in Britain.

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  2. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

    ↩

  3. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2

  4. Grey. C. H. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate. 1938-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

  5. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩

  6. Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.

    ↩

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