The leaves of this plant are really thick and tough. The patterns rather unusual. The tips are pointed but not sharp. My neighbor passed me one plant quite some time back, the others were picked up from the roadside more recently. They have been dug out and thrown there. My sister and I picked them up and took them back here. We planted them beneath the variegated gardenia plants, These plants are survivors. Despite being left for dead, once planted and watered, they are doing well. The roots of these plants are rather shallow. Commonly named as "Mother-in-law'sTongue", " Devils' Tongue", "Jinn's Tongue", "Snake Plant", this is an interesting plant for its many usage. Before I proceed further, this plant I have is the dwarf type, meaning it grows as a rosette and will never grow tall. There is the other type that looks more a tongue. The stiff, erect, lance-shaped leaves grow long and straight up, about 2 feet or more. These plants do flowers, but the flowers are nothing grand.
The leaves are used for fiber production such as string, rope, nets, mats, hats, backs for matting, hammocks and coarse fabrics, including for paper production. The sap from the leaves are known for is antiseptic qualities. This plant have air purifying qualities to remove toxins from the air. The Chinese community likes this plant because it is said the Eight Gods bestowed their eight virtues on people who grew them. These virtues include long life, prosperity, intelligence, beauty, art, poetry, health and strength. Normally people plant these plants near home entrances for good Feng Sui.
This plant is an easy plant to care for , it can survive drought conditions under bright sunlight. It grows just as well under humid and shady conditions. However, this plant cannot take too much water as the roots will rot under too wet conditions. The plant can be propagated through leaf cuttings, or just removing the baby plants as they sprout up by its side.
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