I think we can all agree that the people who work for NASA are pretty smart. Right? In the 1980s those smart folks turned their attention to plants. Specifically indoor plants. NASA scientists wanted to know which plants did the best job of improving indoor air quality?
Houseplants have an advantage over outdoor plants when it comes to purifying air. Indoor plants are adapted to tropical areas where they grow beneath dense tree canopies and get very little light. These plants evolved to efficiently capture light, which means they must be equally efficient when processing the gasses necessary for photosynthesis. Scientists believe this gives indoor plants better ability to absorb the harmful gases exuded from pretty much everything that is mass produced theses days, from furniture to flooring to wall paint.
Here are the plants that the NASA scientists found to be the best at removing toxins commonly found in indoor air:
- Philodendron scandens `oxycardium’, heartleaf philodendron
- Philodendron domesticum, elephant ear philodendron
- Dracaena fragrans `Massangeana’, cornstalk dracaena
- Hedera helix, English ivy
- Chlorophytum comosum, spider plant
- Dracaena deremensis `Janet Craig’, Janet Craig dracaena
- Dracaena deremensis `Warneckii’, Warneck dracaena
- Ficus benjamina, weeping fig
- Epipiremnum aureum, golden pothos
- Spathiphyllum `Mauna Loa’, peace lily
- Philodendron selloum, selloum philodendron
- Aglaonema modestum, Chinese evergreen
- Chamaedorea sefritzii, bamboo or reed palm
- Sansevieria trifasciata, snake plant
- Dracaena marginata, red-edged dracaena
The scientists who conducted the study found that different plants do a better job of removing different toxins, so it’s best to use a variety of the plants listed above. You need at least 15 plants per 2000 square feet of space to provide the best benefit.
NOTE: Several of the plants on the list are toxic to cats, dogs and small children, so do your research first if you share your home with smaller critters.
Photo Credit: Crows to Burnbaby
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This would make a great companion post to my blog post about why one should grow Gerbera daisies.
This is a really interesting post, Fern. Thanks for the information. My cat loves to eat spider plants when they are indoors but ignores them when they are grown outdoors (they grow really well outdoors where I live). Maybe he likes the extra stuff the plants absorb from the air when indoors? Or he could be just another weird cat….
It would have helped if you could add pictures of the respective plants. Thanks for the information though.
Thanks for the suggestions on indoor plants. Have you looked into maybe placing some palms? They are a little more sun hungry, but if you have a nice bay window, they look real nice and smell good as well.
Via the ASPCA.org website, of all the plants listed except for 5 and 13 are toxic to either cats or dogs. Just thought I would note that.
The lead NASA scientist, Dr. B.C. Wolverton wrote a really nice book on the topic titled, “How to Grow Fresh Air.” It has a nice list of 50 houseplants ranked by how well they clean the air and how easy they are to grow. Probably my favorite gardening book!
This is the post Melanie referred to above: http://northerngardenersalmanac.blogspot.com/2009/12/why-grow-gerbera-daisies.html
Ryan–Nope, I actually don’t have any indoor plants. I came across the info in this post when researching plants for my condo. I do have some bright windows, so I will keep palms in mind.
Manashree–Sorry to disappoint.
Tim–I’ll have to keep an eye out for that one!