Species · genus Dracaena · Asparagaceae

Snake Plant

Dracaena trifasciata (Prain) Mabb.

Also known as: Bowstring Hemp · Good Luck Plant · Mother-in-law's Nose · Mother-in-law's Tongue · Snake Sansevieria

Growth habit

rhizomatous geophyte

Native range

Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Tanzania

Reference · D. trifasciata

Cultivars of D. trifasciata

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under D. trifasciata yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

A rhizomatous geophyte from the dry tropics of West and Central Africa, this Dracaena stores water in thick upright leaves and a stout rhizome, so it tolerates drought and rots if kept wet. Let the mix dry out almost completely and water only when the top several inches are dry; it adapts to a range of light but holds up best in bright indirect light, and tolerates ordinary low household humidity. Plant in a gritty, fast-draining mix and avoid standing water.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 28 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

15–29 °C

Soil mix

Free-draining, sandy cactus and succulent mix

Propagation

Leaf cuttings or division of offsets

Fertilizing

Light balanced feed once or twice in the growing season

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Rarely flowers indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs

Saponins — vomiting (occasionally with blood), depression, anorexia, drooling. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

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Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ASPCA

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Snake Plant yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.