Spider Plant Characteristics and Detailed Variety Introduction

Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) is a perennial evergreen herbaceous plant in the family Asparagaceae. Its roots are fleshy, and its leaves are slender, resembling those of an orchid. The stolons that emerge from the leaf axils of the spider plant can grow about a chi long, both rigid and pliable; the leaves clustered at the tips of the stems hang down from the rim of the pot, swaying in the wind, shaped like a crane spreading its wings and leaping. Hence, the spider plant was known in ancient times as the "crane-orchid."

The spider plant has clustered leaves resembling flowers and stays green year-round; it is a famous foliage plant, hailed by people as the "aerial flower." According to research, the spider plant has the ability to absorb toxic gases. Generally, keeping one pot of spider plant in a room can absorb all the toxic gases released into the air by smoking and building materials, thus purifying the air. The roots and the whole plant of the spider plant can be used as medicine, with effects such as clearing the lungs and cooling blood to stop bleeding.

From March to June each year, the spider plant produces small white flowers on its stolons. The flowers are not striking, but they can set seed, which is kept for propagation. Common cultivated varieties of spider plant include: the golden-edged spider plant with yellow leaf margins, the silver-edged spider plant with white leaf margins, and the jade-hearted spider plant with yellow-white centers in the leaves. In addition, spider plants are divided into narrow-leaf spider plants and broad-leaf spider plants. The broad-leaf spider plant has leaves 1.5-2.5 cm wide and 15-45 cm long, with few stolons.