African bowstring hemp

Aloe hyacinthoides Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 321. 1753; A. guineensis (Linnaeus) Jacquin; Cordyline guineensis (Linnaeus) Britton; Sansevieria guineensis (Linnaeus) Willdenow

Leaves 4–10 × 0.5–0.9 dm; blade with transverse white- or yellow-mottled bands, flat, glabrous, margins often yellow, entire, tufted. Inflorescences paniculate, surpassing leaves, 6 dm. Flowers: tepals greenish white to pale pink, 25–40 mm, limb lobes recurved, linear, 14–18 mm; filaments surpassing lobes; ovary 5 mm; style filiform, to 4 mm; stigma capitate. Berries red, globose, 8 mm diam.

Flowering spring. Near old dwelling sites; 0--100 m; introduced; Fla.; Africa.

The taxonomic disposition of plants here treated as Sansevieria hyacinthoides has varied. R. W. Long and O. Lakela (1971) considered them S. thyrsiflora Thunberg, which is an illegitimate name, while J. K. Small (1933) treated them as Cordyline guineensis, and L. H. Bailey et al. (1976) as S. hyacinthoides.