A very common sight in Kenya in dry bush land at altitudes between 600 and 1500m.
The species is often confused with S. ehrenbergii but this occurs mainly in Arabia.
In the younger stages, both species have their leaves growing in all directions. At the mature stage, they show distichous growth; in other words, the leaves then grow in two ranks, like a fan. They have a bluish cast in S. ehrenbergii, whereas in S. robusta they are darkish green (almost yellow in the wild when growing in full sun). In S. robusta the back of the leaves shows 14-30 longitudinal darker green lines. In S. ehrenbergii this is not he case; only in very mature leaves there are some faint markings.
Mature plants of S. robusta have erect stems to 60 cm tall, each with 6-14 leaves to over 2 m long.
The inflorescence is 0.8-1.4 m tall, with white or greenish flowers.
The pictures were taken between Baragoi and South Horr, 23 Sept. 2015.
