Family:
Asparagaceae Juss.
Genus:
Dracaena Vand. ex L.

Dracaena trifasciata (Prain) Mabb.

This species is accepted, and its native range is S. Nigeria to W. Central Tropical Africa. It is used to treat unspecified medicinal disorders, has environmental uses and social uses and as a medicine.

[UNAL]

Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/

Vernacular
calavera, cinta, cola de gato, cola de pescado, corbatín, culebra, culebrero, culebrina, culebro, curarina, espada, espada de Bolívar, espada de Judas, lengua de suegra, lenguaesuegra, lengüevaca, mapaná, mapanare, mejicano, penca, pitahaya, rabo de caimán, rabo de tigre, rayada, serpentaria, serpentina, serpentón, serpiente, taya, víbora

[UPFC]
Distribution
Biogeografic region: Andean, Caribbean, Orinoquia, Pacific. Elevation range: 100–2000 m a.s.l. Cultivated in Colombia. Colombian departments: Antioquia, Arauca, Atlántico, Boyacá, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Chocó, Córdoba, Cundinamarca, Huila, La Guajira, Meta, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Risaralda, San Andrés y Providencia, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca.
Habit
Herb.

[FWTA]

Agavaceae, F. N. Hepper. Flora of West Tropical Africa 3:1. 1968

Morphology General Habit
Erect herb with transversely barred
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 2-21/2 ft. long.

[FTEA]

Dracenaceae, Geoffrey Mwachala & Paul Mbugua, Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2007

Morphology General Habit
Acaulescent herb with subterranean rhizome
Morphology Leaves
Leaves very erect, 1–2(–6), linearlanceolate, 30–120 × 2.5–7 cm, banded on both surfaces from base to apex, very distinct light dull green or clear whitish-green and deep grass-green to almost blackish-green, overspread with slight glaucous bloom, margins narrow, grey-green (var. {i}trifasciata{/i}) or golden yellow (var. laurentii{/i})
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence (30–)40–75 cm high, axes 0.3–0.8 cm thick; flowers (1–)3–4 per cluster; pedicels 0.5–0.8 cm long, pedicels upward-curved
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers pale greenish or greenish-white, perianth 1.9–2.3 cm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit a bright orange globose berry, 0.8 cm diameter, 1–3-seeded
Note
var. {i}trifasciata {/i}has been cultivated in Kenya, Nairobi: Eastleigh, St. Theresas Catholic Church, 12 Dec. 1971, {i}Mwangangi & Kasyoki {/i}1891a! var. {i}laurentii {/i}N.E.Br. has been cultivated in Kenya, Nairobi: Eastleigh near St Theresa Catholic Church., 12 Dec. 1971, {i}Mwangangi & Kasyoki {/i}1891b!

[UPB]

The Useful Plants of Boyacá project

Ecology
Alt. 100 - 2000 m.
Distribution
Cultivated in Colombia.
Morphology General Habit
Herb.

[UPFC]
Distribution
Found in Boyacá, Colombia.

[CPLC]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Cultivada en Colombia; Alt. 100 - 2000 m.; Andes, Islas Caribeñas, Llanura del Caribe, Orinoquia, Pacífico.
Morphology General Habit
Hierba

[UPFC]
Use Environmental
Environmental uses.
Use Materials
Used as material.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
Use Social
Social uses.

[UPB]
Use Environmental
Environmental uses (State of the World's Plants 2016).
Use Materials Fibres
Leaves - Potentially used to make rope (Correa & Bernal 1989).
Use Materials Unspecified Materials Chemicals
Materials (State of the World's Plants 2016).
Use Medicines Unspecified Medicinal Disorders
Medicinal (Instituto Humboldt 2014).

Native to:

Cameroon, Central African Repu, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Zaïre

Introduced into:

Andaman Is., Ascension, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Canary Is., Caroline Is., Chagos Archipelago, Comoros, Cook Is., Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, East Himalaya, Ecuador, Fiji, Florida, Galápagos, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Malaya, Marianas, Marshall Is., Mauritius, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Myanmar, Nauru, Niue, Norfolk Is., Puerto Rico, Queensland, Rwanda, Réunion, Seychelles, Society Is., Solomon Is., Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuelan Antilles, Wake I., Windward Is.

Spanish
Lengua de suegra, serpentaria, curarina.

Dracaena trifasciata (Prain) Mabb. appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Oct 19, 1994 Talbot, P.A. Mr [s.n.], Nigeria Sansevieria trifasciata K000499555 Unknown type material Yes
Nov 14, 1983 Mwangangi, O. [1891], Kenya Sansevieria trifasciata K000203832 No
Oct 27, 1911 s.coll. [s.n.] Sansevieria trifasciata K000499556 Unknown type material Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Sansevieria trifasciata K000204312 No
Cabalion, P. [2485bis], Vanuatu Sansevieria trifasciata K000204314 No
s.coll. [s.n.] Sansevieria trifasciata K000204315 No
Lau, J. [1274] Sansevieria trifasciata K000204313 No
Lau, J. [2852] Sansevieria trifasciata K000204317 No
s.coll. [s.n.] Sansevieria trifasciata K000204316 No
Coode, M.J.E. [4020], Mauritius Sansevieria trifasciata K000204176 No

First published in Mabberley's Pl.-Book, ed. 4: 1101 (2017)

Accepted by

  • Govaerts, R., Nic Lughadha, E., Black, N., Turner, R. & Paton, A. (2021). The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00997-6 Scientific Data 8: 215.

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Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

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    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    Copyright applied to individual images

  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    ColPlantA database
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants of Boyacá Project

    ColPlantA database
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/