This week's plant spotlight is on one of the most popular indoor plants, commonly found in every plant influencer's home... the Sansevieria! Also known as mother-in-law's tongue, snake plant, and devils tongue, it's surprising that these plants have such a great reputation. But their beautiful green leaves and easy-to-care-for nature make it quite obvious. So without further ado, let's delve into the wonderful world of the Sansevieria!
NOTE: Sansevieria was recently added to the Dracaena genus of plants. But to keep things familiar and focused solely on the plants that were part of the former Sansevieria genus, this blog will be referring to the genus as Sansevieria.
>Check out our entire selection of Sansevieria plants!
A big snake brood
The Sansevieria genus is comprised of around 70 different types of plants, found throughout Africa and Southern Asia. In the wild, these can come in all different shapes, sizes, and colours, largely depending on their environment. In the home, the most well-known types are Sansevieria Zeylanica and Sansevieria Laurentii, but we prefer to call them Gus and Kaa.
Breathe easy
Because they come from hot and dry climates, Sansevieria plants use a method of producing oxygen known as CAM (or the crassulacean acid metabolism process, if you want to get fancy). Using the CAM process means that Sansevieria plants close their pores during the day and re-open them at night. This is one of the reasons Sansevieria are very easy to care for, as CAM allows them to store water in their leaves during the day. It also means that instead of producing moderate amounts of oxygen throughout the day, like most plants, Sansevieria produce very high amounts of oxygen at night. This is good news for anyone who loves a good night's sleep and is why we highly recommend placing a few Sansevieria plants in your bedroom.
Sansevieria plants are also great air purifiers that were featured in the NASA clean air study. This gives them the ability to remove harmful toxins, such as benzene and formaldehyde from the air. With this, they have also been found to be great for those with airborne allergies. For more info on the Sansevieria's air purifying properties, check out our past blog all about air-purifying plants!
Good energy
According to the traditional practice of Feng Shui, Sansevieria plants can bring good and protective energy if placed in the right location. In Feng Shui, it is recommended to place your Sansevieria plant in an area of your home with less foot traffic, as they can also have aggressive energy. Eastern, Southeastern, and Southern corners are highly recommended.
Have a plant you want to see featured on our next plant spotlight? Let us know at hello@plantsome.ca | Facebook | Instagram!