Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Sansevieria liberica Gérôme & Labroy

Family

Dracaenaceae (New South Wales and Queensland)
Liliaceae (Northern Territory)

Common Names

African bow-string hemp, African bowstring hemp, bow-string hemp, bowstring hemp, leopard lily, mother-in-law's tongue, snake plant

Origin

Native to tropical western Africa (i.e. from Morocco to Chad) and also extending into some parts of central and eastern Africa (i.e. the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania).

Naturalised Distribution

Locally naturalised in south-eastern Queensland, but may be more widespread than current records indicate as it is easily mistaken for mother-in-law's tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata).

Notes

African bowstring hemp (Sansevieria liberica) is an emerging environmental weed in Queensland, which causes similar problems to mother-in-law's tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata ). This succulent species is commonly cultivated as a garden plant and is regularly dumped in garden waste, from where it spreads into bushland and forms dense colonies. For example, a large population is present in open woodland vegetation in the Enoggera Creek Reserve in Ashgrove in Brisbane. Photographic evidence would also seem to suggest that naturalised populations may also be present in the Townsville region (e.g. on Magnetic Island).