115 
ealled African bowstring hemp. These fibres are very firm, hair-like 
and silky, and closely resemble =e of the ene they are sai 
to take dyes very readily ; and the tow is mentioned by Royle to have 
been converted into good paper at Teehing opoly. 
lants of Sansevieri wa are already abundant in a wild or semi-cul- 
tivated state in most tropical countries. They are sl pate of being 
pr opagated very readily. Usually the underground stem or rhizome is 
divided and planted ; but plants may also be raised from sèed, or from 
the leaves, which latter, planted whole or cut into small pieces, readily 
take root in moist situations. 
A full botanical description of the several species of Sansevieria may 
be found in a monograph of the ASPARAGACE, in the ger aig st 
of = Journal of the Linnean robes y (pp. 546-550), by Mr. J. G. 
Baker, F.R.S. The description give e following aia: is con- 
tributed by Mr. Baker. ‘The mise ang are iw Fee to those which are 
now under cultivation at Kew, and of which specimens of fibre have 
ch Seat and examined. The plants may be seen in the West 
Transept of the Palm House at Kew; while the specimens of fibre 
No. 
species, or well-marked shag sar - Si ote of which 
we have living plants at Kew, are seven mber, and they may be 
readily Saioa according to their leaves i in e a, as follows :— 
s comparatively thin and flat 
as 5. guineens 78. 2 SZ pedi it 
n Oe is es igre 
I. Leaves er ARER in transverse on at i middle, deeply 
hollowed pos the 
5. S. zeylanica. 
HI. Leaves in bahaped more like stems than i leaves :— 
6. S. cylindri 7. Se sulca 
c 
1. Sansevieria a, Willd., is one of the as oldest and best 
known popin s was first Ti red and described, long before the days 
riptio ” (tab. 20 
the name of “ Aloe guineensis radice geniculata foliis ex viridi et atro 
“undulatim variegatis.” Linnæus classified it under the genus Aletris, 
and so did Jacquin, who figured and peared desorbed it in 1770 in 
his Hortus Leecher mea y (vol. I., p. 67, t. 84). It has horny, erect, 
lanceolate leaves, 3 or 4 feet long, 3 inches broad at the middle, 
narrowed paiz sa to an acute apex. not distinctly bordered with red, 
onay mottled on both surfaces with broad irregular yos of white. 
owers are in a lax, simple spi ke, which rises to the same height as 
the leaves, in clusters of three to six, with a whitish so ag Sooni 2 inches 
jong, of which the six segments are about as long as the cylindrical 
tube. 
ition. 
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As regards the spelli following the Genera Plantar um, we have adopted 
Sansoviers instead ar ‘San esant targ pe being the oldest name. Thunberg had it 
Sansevieria ; iapa aituend i s pe and Kunth followed. Bentham in 
Sansevie 
H2 
