Plant · P-889

Spider Plant

Chlorophytum comosum

Spider Plant is a clumping, evergreen perennial with narrow, arching, often variegated leaves, grown worldwide as a houseplant for its tolerance of poor light, irregular watering and general neglect, and for a documented ability to help clear indoor air of volatile pollutants, including formaldehyde and carbon monoxide, under enclosed-chamber testing. It stays compact at about 30 to 45 centimetres tall, with one source giving a wider mature height up to about 60 centimetres, and 30 to 60 centimetres wide, tolerates dappled sunlight through deep shade but is intolerant of direct sun, and prefers evenly moist, neutral, well-drained loam though established plants tolerate real drought. Its roots are fleshy and tuberous, swelling for water storage and needing division once they fill a container. It propagates itself readily by long, wiry stolons that carry small plantlets at their tips; wherever a plantlet touches soil or water it roots on its own, so a single plant produces a steady supply of new starts without seed or deliberate division. It is native to tropical and southern Africa, needs protection from temperatures below about 45 Fahrenheit, and is non-toxic to cats, dogs and horses, unlike many other common houseplants.