Peat Free Snake Plant 'Starfish'

Snake plants are native to arid and desert regions across Africa and South Asia. The botanist Carl Thunberg, a pupil of Linnaeus, first took a specimen back to Europe in 1794. It gets its Latin name "Sansevieria" after the nobleman Raimondo di Sangro, who was from Sansevero in Italy. Since the mid-2000s, the snake plant has shot to fame due to its popularity as a houseplant and on NASA spaceships.

Snake plants are famed for their ability to tolerate neglect and a wide range of growing conditions, making them very popular houseplants. Their slow-growing habit has meant that only a limited number of species has made it to commercial cultivation. In their native arid habitats, they often grow together in clumps and look similar to agave other desert plants. Another characteristic Snake plants share is their ability to produce oxygen overnight, through a photosynthesis process called crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM).

Snake plants are generally regarded as one of the easiest plants to look after. They can adapt to a range of light conditions from light shade to full sun but will do best in bright indirect light. As succulents plants, they store water in their leaves so they have a high drought tolerance. That is why it is best to wait until the soil has fully dried out before watering. Make sure your Snake plant is planted in well-draining soil, and always err on the side of caution when watering, as the one thing they really do not like is being overwatered.

Until 2017 all snake plants were in the Sansevieria family, but were then recategorised into the Dracaena family.

If ingested this plant can be toxic or poisonous so keep away from dogs, cats or other pets and small children.

Boncel Snake Plant; Spear Orchid; Skyline Spear; African spear plant