Hi Mia,

that is just normal confusion with Sansevieria names. Juan's book contains a lot of errors (e.g. compare the photos on pp 80 and 95!). Googled images are at most totally unreliable. The only obvious thing is that 'Blue clone', 'Frosty spears', and 'Lav 1970' are forms of S. suffruticosa, which is said to be one of the most variable species.

Still, I find Juan's book useful and the best actual one we have.

helli

"Frosty Spears' has heavier leaves, larger leaves, they will darken up when getting older. Blue Clone is a lighter (I don't mean color I mean girth of the leaf) looking plant. Read the description very carefully. Juan made a lot of mistakes with the measurments, and their may have been some switching of names/also some plants was declared as species he admidts that they where hybrids in later articles. I know him well, known him since 1991 he has very poor eyesight and is about my age so may be having some memory problems. Regardless of his mistakes in the book it is still worth the money, Blue Clone may still be too young to figure out yet. If you can tell a name of a plant fron a picture with no flower you are guessing. what they look like when young may be entirely different in as adults, and old plants can be made young again so don't ever toss any thing out. There are many clone/ forms of different suffruticossa if you are new in collection this genus of plants try to instist on collection numbers or locations where obtained. As the plant gets older post another picture, and show the channel. Dp the leaves will like sandpaper, both sides, where does the new growth come out of, the soil or the plant? I will be here to help aslong as they allow me to. It is very easy to give out misinformation. None of us intend to do so, we just don't know enouth at this time, and the pictures in books even the best can be misleading, the names are changing faster then we can put in the new labels. Norma

Juan book is set up weirdly, many of the measurments are wrong, he didn't have an independent editor, or proof reader, we should be grateful that he took the time and money to have it printed. Often the picture is on the next page or above another description. It is poorly laid out.
I have no problems however. Until I write a book I will not critize it. Norma

Do you really want to know why there are two names for the same plant? Perhaps Helli will explain the reason, I can give you examples why. Norma

Okay I am going to try and give an example, Blue Clone may have been called that because it hadn't been named yet. The new growth is frosty looking when you have alternating bands of green with a light blue gray banding, it also have green lines vertical going up these leaves, it is a beautiful plant and will grow very large if given the room to do so. There are many examples of this happening with naming the species. #21681 ended up as S. 'Minnie' in Juans book, because he is the one that described the plant so named it. It is another form of Suffruticosa group. The picture is on the next page after the description because there was no more room on the same page. If he did it any other way the book would have cost much more to be printed. He did this way to cut down on the cost of printing. Norma

I have 'Frosty Spears' it send growth runner out from the top of the plant. I have other species of Sans. that are also called a blue clone. there is also a San. halli
'Blue Bat' as well as a San. halli 'Green Bat' This plant has had 3 names that I know of.

I also have a green a S. 'Blue conspicua as well as a S. conspicua 'Green' I just think he named it 'Blue' suffruitcosa until a name was assigned to it. I have sevearl plants for the past 20 years with just a number, this year one of the was finally given a name. Norma