Mason's Congo, Rare Sansevieria Masoniana Variegated, Whale Fin Snake Plant, wide leaves mother in law's tongue, Mason's Congo. Hardy to 30F.

Mason's Congo, RARE Sansevieria Masoniana and Variegated, Dracaena Masoniana, Whale Fin Snake Plant, Unique Wide paddle like leaf.

• Considerations: Tolerant of a wide range of light conditions - just be sure not to over water.

Dracaena masoniana is nicknamed Whale Fin Snake Plant because of the unique shape of its unusually wide, paddle-like leaves. Though slow growing, the Whale Fin Snake Plant reaches impressive size compared to other members of the genus. Its leaves are beautifully mottled with patterns of dark and light green, and the leaf margins are often a pink-ish red. Like all Snake Plants, Dracaena masoniana is known for its air-purifying abilities, and is great for beginners, requiring very little maintenance.

This plant was formerly classified as Sansevieria masoniana, but modern DNA sequencing led taxonomists to combine the genus Sansevieria with Dracaena because of the plants' similar genes.

This semi-succulent plant has wonderful, long, 8-10 inches wide, dark green leaves with smudged, light green spots and a unique, purple-banded sheath (often below soil level). Excellent as a large houseplant, tolerating low light levels and infrequent irrigation. On occasion, if grown in bright light, this plant forms a stalk of white flower clusters arising from the center of the plant.

Hardy to at least 30° F if kept dry or in a very well-drained soil. The wide, stiff, waxy, mottled leaves will grow quite large if given the room; there are reports of it getting to 6 feet tall though we have yet to see it quite this big - usually seen at 3 to 4 feet in height and younger nursery plants that are regularly divided often remain around 2 feet and not vertically inclined for several years before new taller leaves emerge. This plant was collected in what was called the Belgian Congo (then Zaire and now Democratic Republic of the Congo) by Maurice Mason, a renowned plant collector from of Norfolk, England. It was originally introduced as Sansevieria 'Mason's Congo' but was described in 2000 by Juan Chahinian as a species in the Cactus and Succulent Society of America Journal (Volume 72(1). The name for the genus was originally Sanseverinia as named by the Italian botanist Vincenzo Petagna in honor of his patron, Pietro Antonio Sanseverino, the Count of Chiaromonte (1724-1771), but the name was altered for unknown reasons by the Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg, possibly influenced by the name of Raimondo di Sangro (1710–1771), prince of San Severo in Italy. The specific epithet honors Maurice Mason. Long placed in the Agavaceae, the Dracaenaceae and by some in the Ruscaceae families, Sansevieria was most recently placed in the subfamily Nolinoideae within the Asparagaceae family. Molecular phylogenetic studies have persuaded some to include Sansevieria in the genus Dracaena, which would make this plants name Dracaena masoniana. Because of considerable disagreement over this change, the long standing use of its old name, and so not to cause our own and customer confusion, we continue to list this plant as a Sansevieria.

PLANT CARE
• Light: Low to bright, indirect light
• Water: Water when the soil has fully dried
• Considerations: Tolerant of a wide range of light conditions - just be sure not to overwater. The foliage will pucker slightly when the plant is thirsty.