Sansevieria plant named ‘HANSOTI64’

[0001] Latin name of the genus and species: Sansevieria trifasciata.

[0002] Cultivar denomination: ‘HANSOTI64’.

[0003] The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Sansevieria plant, botanically known as Sansevieria trifasciata of the family Asparagaceae, hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘HANSOTI64’. Sansevieria has now been reclassified as Dracaena meaning this new cultivar could also be correctly referred to as Dracaena trifasciata.

[0004] Sansevieria is a monocotyledonous plant with fleshy, succulent leaves which are available in a huge range of species, varieties and cultivars as an outdoor ornamental plant (under tropical or warm temperate conditions) or as indoor plants. Both, the parental ‘Hansoti40’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 36,221 and the new cultivar ‘Hansoti64’ belong to the group of Sansevieria trifasciata called “Birds Nest” or ‘Hahnii’ Sansevieria Group of very short or dwarf cultivars all ultimately derived from the original Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Hahnii’ patented in 1941 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 470), in contrast to the medium sized “Compact Sansevieria Group” with Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Futura Superba’, unpatented as the typical example, and the “Tall Sansevieria Group” of Sansevieria trifasciata cultivars with tall leaves up to or even beyond 4 feet (1.25 meters) tall and Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Laurentii’, unpatented as the typical example.

[0005] The new Sansevieria ‘HANSOTI64’ was discovered and selected by Mr. Ashish Hansoti, as a single aberrant side shoot within a planting of Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Hansoti40’, a patented ‘Hahnii’ or “Birds Nest” type of Sansevieria selected and grown at this nursery at Village Asle, District Satara, Maharashtra State in Western India. Thus, it originated as a naturally occurring mutation from Sansevieria trifasciata cultivar ‘Hansoti40’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 36,377) in April of 2022.

[0006] Asexual reproduction of the new Sansevieria cultivar ‘Hansoti64’ by vegetative cuttings was first performed around March of 2023 and continued propagation and selection of true to type material was continued at Village Asle, District Satara, in Maharashtra State in Western India. After several rounds of selection of true to type shoots and discarding of off-types, it was seen that the distinctive combination of characteristics of the new cultivar reproduced true to type as long as the propagation was done through side shoots originating from the base of the parent plant (basal suckers). Thus, it can be said that the new cultivar reproduces true to type through side shoots (basal suckers) only.

[0007] The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be unique characteristics of ‘HANSOTI64’, which in combination distinguish this Sansevieria as a new and distinct cultivar:

• • [0008] 1. Vivid and distinct, broad central band of longitudinal light golden yellow/greenish yellow streaks along length of the leaf lamina.
  • [0009] 2. This is combined with the transverse banding typical of most Sansevieria trifasciata cultivars but in this case this banding is more prominent and vivid because the area between the darker cross hatching is cream rather than silvery-green. Both combine to give the whole rosette a bright look seen in only a few other cultivars of the ‘Hahnii’ type.
  • [0010] 3. Another way to describe the rosette of ‘Hansoti64’ is to say it's like S. trifasciata ‘Green Compacta’, unpatented but with the additional central band of bright yellowish green and a more vivid crossbanding giving an overall extra-bright appearance to the whole rosette.

[0011] Leaf width is quite variable and the strongest, healthiest plants have the widest leaves; this is true across all Sansevieria trifasciata cultivars known to the inventor. This variation means leaf width can be anything from 6 cm to 8 cm wide depending on season, growing conditions and plant vigour and plant age. The leaves are lanceolate with a firm, waxy texture. The blades are thick & fleshy.

[0012] The new cultivar is moderately drought tolerant and adapts well to conditions of bright light and heavy shade (exterior and interior). The intensity of these central bands varies with exposure to light and the contrast is most intense under higher light conditions. The plant is liable to get scorched in full hot tropical sun.

[0013] The leaves are an overall dark green color, on closer examination consisting of silvery green background color with typical darker green trifasciata cross-hatching along with a unique and distinct longitudinal band consisting of lighter creamy green streaks, which is the new and unusual feature of ‘Hansoti64’.

[0014] The silvery-green background areas of the leaves are close to 191A and the dark green cross-hatching shows coloration similar to N189A. The central band of creamy streaks and bands is near 1D. Going across this creamy band are the typical cross hatching of S. trifasciata but here, lacking the silvery-green background, the green cross-hatching shows as a bright green close to 143A while the lighter areas are close to 1D. It is to be noted that this creamy band is brightest in young and recently mature leaves and slowly becomes more and more greenish till, in older leaves, this creamy area is changed almost entirely to the silvery-green seen in the leaf outer areas, with the central “light” band barely discernible.

[0015] The backside of the leaves has a somewhat different coloration to the front, in young and recently mature leaves the overall background color is a silvery-grey with a creamy overlay, looking like 191C and the cross-hatching bands are a little narrower. The central broad longitudinal band is quite muted but is still seen on the back of the leaves. As the leaves age this central band practically disappears and leaves look like any typical S. trifasciata cultivar such as ‘Green Compacta’.

[0016] Plants of the new Sansevieria ‘HANSOTI64’ are similar to plants of the parental cultivar, however, ‘HANSOTI64’ differs in the characteristics described in Table I.

[0017]

TABLE I
Comparison of Parental and the New cultivar ‘Hansoti64’
		Parent Cultivar
		‘Hansoti40’ U.S.	New cultivar
	Characteristic	Plant Pat. No. 36,377	‘Hansoti64’
1.	Leaf size	12 to 14 cm long,	12 to 13 cm long,
		6-7 cm wide	6-8 cm wide
2.	Number of	9 to 11 leaves	11 to 13 leaves
	leaves
3.	Variegation	Cream border on dark	Creamy border is
	Pattern	green leaves with	entirely missing; a
		typical S. trifasciata	prominent central
		transverse banding	band of creamy
		plus a wide central	color dominates
		band of light	the leaves,
		green/creamy yellow	especially the
		streaks	young and recently
			mature leaves.
4.	Border	1 to 12 mm wide	None, no border
	variegation	cream border	variegation
5.	Central	20 to 30 mm wide	20 to 30 mm wide
	Variegation	band of lighter	band of lighter
		green/creamy yellow	green/creamy
		streaks on top of	yellow streaks on
		and in addition to	top of and in
		the transverse	addition to the
		banding.	transverse banding.

[0018] ‘Hansoti64’ is similar to the old, familiar green S. trifasciata ‘Hahnii’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 470 with the addition of a prominent creamy band in the centre of the leaf and brighter cross-banding and lacking the border bands. The lack of this border band, in some ways, enhances the contrast and impact of the central bright band of creamy yellow lines and streaks.

[0019] Plants of the new Sansevieria ‘HANSOTI64’ are similar to the commercial cultivar Sansevieria ‘Green Compacta’, unpatented. ‘Green Compacta’ is a superior, compact growing form of ‘Hahnii’ selected and grown by the inventor. Plants of the new Sansevieria ‘HANSOTI64’ differ from plants of the commercial cultivar in the characteristics described in Table II.

[0020]

TABLE II
Comparison of similar cultivar ‘Green Compacta’ and
the new cultivar ‘Hansoti64’
		Similar Cultivar	New cultivar
	Characteristic	‘Green Compacta’	‘Hansoti64’
1.	Leaf size	9 to 13 cm long	12 to 13 cm long,
			6-8 cm wide
2.	Number of	9 to 12 leaves	11 to 13 leaves
	leaves		(somewhat more leaves)
3.	Variegation	Bright central band	Creamy border is entirely
	Pattern	along length of leaf.	missing; a prominent
		Transverse banding	central band of creamy
		essentially not seen.	color dominates the
			leaves, especially the
			young and recently
			mature leaves.
4.	Border	2 to 12 mm wide	None, no border
	variegation	creamy band with	variegation
		inconspicuous
		transverse banding.
5.	Central	Only the central	20 to 30 mm wide
	Variegation	bands of creamy	band of lighter
		streaks seen on dark	green/creamy yellow
		green background	streaks on top of and
		with no transverse	in addition to the
		banding in leaf	extra-prominent
		central area.	transverse banding.

[0035] The new Sansevieria ‘HANSOTI64’ has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype of the new cultivar may vary with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, fertilizer levels and composition and day length without any change in the genotype of the plant.

[0036] The aforementioned photographs, together with the following observations, measurements and values describe the new Sansevieria cultivar ‘HANSOTI64’ plants grown in an open poly house (high tunnel) at Village Asle, District Satara, Maharashtra State in Western India. Average temperature in Asle is 25° C., with summer highs of 39° C. and winter lows of 6° C. Plants grow under natural light conditions and between 30% to 75% shade levels depending on the season (higher shade in hot summer conditions).

[0037] This crop gets nearly constant fertilization to increase production. Controlled release fertilizer 13:11:11 Type 360-days release at 1 kilo/cubic meter of media, liquid fertilizer at approximately 100 ppm N, 20 ppm P and 100 ppm K, along with complete micronutrients. Production is closely related with proper and complete plant nutrition and an open soilless growing media based on coconut coir. The plants are grown in plastic pots on metal benching in spacing trays.

[0038] Color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart (R.H.S.), 2007 (5^th Edition), except where general colors of ordinary significance are used. It should be noted that colors in Sansevieria are somewhat variable depending on light levels, nutrition balance, age of plant and other factors. Plant & leaf size, width, thickness and color can vary considerably depending on light levels, feed composition and EC and pot size.

[0039] The photographs and descriptions were taken during the winter season in Asle, District Satara, Maharashtra State, India when outdoor day and temperatures were 32° C. to 38° C. and nights, usually of 25° C. to 28° C. The age of the plants described is 3-4 months in 12 cm pots.

• [0040] Botanical classification: Sansevieria trifasciata ‘HANSOTI64’.
• [0041] General information:
  • • [0042] Parentage.—Single aberrant side shoot within a planting of Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Hansoti40’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 36,377.
    • [0043] Optimal growth conditions.—High adaptability to outdoor or indoor conditions.
    • [0044] Light intensities.—High adaptability to outdoor or indoor conditions but needs some shade in hot climates.
    • [0045] Temperature.—Day: 25° C. to 35° C. Night: 15° C. to 25° C.
    • [0046] Temperature tolerance.—Tolerant to a low temperature of about 6° C. and a high temperature of 38° C. and above, very heat tolerant.
    • [0047] Fertilization.—Constant feed of 100 ppm N, 20 ppm P and 100 ppm K is used along with micronutrients with occasional leaching. Media incorporation of 13:11:11 Type 360 days release at 1 kg/cubic meter of media.
    • [0048] Growth regulators.—Not necessary for growing this cultivar. Rooting hormone helps rapid and prolific rooting of offsets.
• [0049] Propagation:
  • • [0050] Typical.—Vegetative, by side suckers which come true to type. Does not come true from leaf cuttings.
    • [0051] Rooting habit and description.—Rhizomes elongated, fleshy, giving rise to offsets (side shoots). Offsets root easily with fibrous adventitious roots from cut end.
    • [0052] Time to initiate roots.—25 to 30 days at 25° C. to 30° C.
    • [0053] Time to produce a rooted liner.—About 45 days at 25° C. to 30° C.
    • [0054] Time to produce ready 12 cm potted plant from liner.—About 10 to 12 weeks at 25° C. to 30° C.
• [0055] Plant:
  • • [0056] General appearance and form.—Monocot; leaf bases arranged in a rosette around growth point.
    • [0057] Height.—About 8 to 10 cm when grown in 12 cm pots.
    • [0058] Diameter.—About 16 to 18 cm when grown when grown in a 12 cm size container.
    • [0059] Rosette height (center).—About 4 to 6 cm.
    • [0060] Rosette diameter.—About 16 to 18 cm.
    • [0061] Shape.—Inverted triangle.
    • [0062] Fragrance.—None.
    • [0063] Stem.—Modified rhizome which are fleshy with erect foliage. Texture: Smooth, waxy. Color: Yellow Green 144C. Strength: Strong and durable.
    • [0064] Internode length.—About 1 mm.
• [0065] Foliage:
  • • [0066] Quantity.—About 11 to 13 in ready to sell plant in a 12 cm pot. Number slowly increases with age.
    • [0067] Arrangement and attachment.—Single, alternate; leaf bases arranged stiffly in a rosette around growth point.
    • [0068] Leaf length.—About 12 to 13 cm in mature, full-size leaf.
    • [0069] Leaf width.—About 6 to 8 cm in mature, full-size leaf.
    • [0070] Overall shape of leaf.—Lanceolate.
    • [0071] Apex shape.—Acute, triangular and aristate with soft tip.
    • [0072] Base shape.—Truncate.
    • [0073] Margin.—Entire. Sharp.
    • [0074] Texture.—Upper Surface: Smooth and waxy texture.
    • [0075] Texture.—Under Surface: Smooth and waxy texture.
    • [0076] Pubescence.—None.
    • [0077] Attachment.—Sessile.
• [0078] Color recent mature leaf:
• [0079] Upper surface: Basal silvery-green color near 191A with prominent transverse banding of dark green close to N189A and central wide band with creamy streaks of 1D.
  • • [0080] Margin variegation.—None.
• [0081] Crossbanding: Typical crossbanding as seen in most S. trifasciata cultivars with dark green color near N189A. Along the central creamy band the crossbanding is a bright green near 143A (there being no silvery-green underlay due to the creamy streaks) while the areas between these bands is a creamy yellow near 1D, giving a brightly striped appearance.
• [0082] Lower surface: Still prominent transverse banding but with narrower dark bands as above and the longitudinal creamy band is less prominent, and this characteristic of the top surface is much subdued but still perceptible on the bottom surface. The silvery-grey areas between the darker banding are overlaid with a light creamy layer so that this area is now neared 191C.
  • • [0083] Venation pattern.—Longitudinal/parallel to leaf shape. No color distinct from leaf blade.
    • [0084] Leaf fragrance.—None.
• [0085] Other:
  • • [0086] Inflorescence description.—Flowers not observed to date.
    • [0087] Weather resistance.—Moderately drought tolerant.
    • [0088] Pest resistance.—Reasonably resistant to pests, susceptible to root mealybugs (Rhizoecus pritchardi). Typical pests include Pseudococcidae longispinus and Tetranychus urticae.
    • [0089] Disease resistance.—Occasionally shows Anthracnose. Largely disease-free from clean mother stock and appropriate disease mitigation measures undertaken.
    • [0090] Fruit/seed production.—No fruits/seeds detected to date.