Silver-heart spider plant may look delicate, but it is powerful at purifying the air

Silver-heart spider plant is a type of spider plant, named for the silvery-white stripe about 1 cm wide running down the middle of its leaves. Like other spider plants, it has graceful form and is a common ornamental plant in homes. However, the benefits of silver-heart spider plant are not limited to ornament; it has quite a few other uses as well.

Silver-heart spider plant is a perennial herbaceous plant. It has clustered cylindrical fleshy roots and short rhizomes. The leaves are basal, band-shaped to long lanceolate, with entire or slightly wavy margins; the flowering stems emerge from the leaf axils, 30-50 cm long, arching down to form new stolons. The inflorescence is a raceme with small white flowers, blooming in spring and summer, and it can also bloom indoors in winter. The underground part has rhizomes, fleshy and short, creeping horizontally or growing obliquely; the leaves are slender, linear-lanceolate, with a yellow-white longitudinal stripe in the center, clasping at the base, bright green. Stolons emerge from the leaf axils, extending out of the clump and curving outward, with small plantlets bearing aerial roots at the tips. The flowers are white, with 6 tepals, blooming in spring and summer. The main benefits of silver-heart spider plant are:

I. Ornamental value

Spider plant is one of the most traditional hanging indoor plants. Its leaves are slender and soft, and the trailing stems emerging from the leaf axils bear small plantlets, hanging down from the rim of the pot, spreading and draping like flowers, evergreen all year round. It is both sturdy and soft, shaped like a crane spreading its wings to leap, hence the ancient name "crane-orchid". Spider plant has beautiful, elegant leaf shapes and graceful drooping flowering stems, and is often used as a potted plant hanging under outdoor corridors, in front of windows, or placed in entrance halls or on high stands, both for ornament and to adorn rockery and cliff walls; it has long been known as "aerial flower". In short, its special appearance creates a unique hanging landscape and three-dimensional beauty, and can produce a distinctive decorative effect.

II. Medicinal value

The whole plant of spider plant can be used medicinally; it has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, nourishing yin and moistening the lungs, and reducing swelling and dispersing blood stasis. It can mainly treat cough, hoarseness, bruises and injuries, toothache, etc.

III. Air purification

Silver-heart spider plant, like other spider plants, has the effect of purifying air and beautifying the environment, and is one of the top ten indoor pollution fighters. Spider plant not only resembles an orchid in form and stays fresh green all year round, but also has a strong ability to absorb pollutants, which has been recognized by scientists. Experiments have shown that spider plant can absorb and purify all harmful gases in an experimental container within 24 hours. As long as a pot of spider plant is placed in a bedroom, within a day it can absorb harmful gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen peroxide released by indoor electrical appliances, stoves, plastic products, paints, etc., and transport them to the roots, where microorganisms in the soil decompose them into harmless substances that are absorbed as nutrients. In its own metabolism, spider plant can also convert carcinogenic formaldehyde in the air into substances such as sugars and amino acids. It can also break down benzene emitted by photocopiers and printers, and can even "devour" nicotine and so on. Therefore, in a room of about 10 sq m, as long as there is one pot of spider plant, it is equivalent to installing an air purifier, enough to offset the negative effects of harmful gases.

The whole spider plant is a treasure, and its great benefits have made it the first choice for indoor greening in many households. Especially in newly renovated houses, while opening windows for ventilation, it is worth placing several pots of spider plant to increase the air-purifying effect.