List of Air-filtering Soil and Plants

Posted July 4, 2009

The first list of air filtering plants was compiled by NASA as part of the NASA Clean Air Study, which researched ways to clean air in space stations. As well as absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, as all plants do, these plants also eliminate significant amounts of benzene, formaldehyde and/or trichloroethylene.

Plant benzene
 formaldehyde
 trichloroethylene
 xylene and
toluene
English Ivy (Hedera helix) X W

Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
N

Golden pothos or Devil's ivy
(Scindapsus aures or Epipremnum aureum)
N

Peace lily (Spathiphyllum 'Mauna Loa') X W X
Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema modestum)



Bamboo palm or reed palm (Chamaedorea sefritzii)
N W

Snake plant or mother-in-law's tongue
(Sansevieria trifasciata 'Laurentii')
N

Heartleaf philodendron
(Philodendron oxycardium, syn. Philodendron cordatum)
N

Selloum philodendron
(Philodendron bipinnatifidum, syn. Philodendron selloum)
N

Elephant ear philodendron (Philodendron domesticum)
N

Red-edged dracaena (Dracaena marginata) X N
X
Cornstalk dracaena
(Dracaena fragans 'Massangeana')
N

Janet Craig dracaena
(Dracaena deremensis 'Janet Craig')		 X W

Warneck dracaena
(Dracaena deremensis 'Warneckii')		 X
X X
Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina)[4]
W

Gerbera Daisy or Barberton daisy
(Gerbera jamesonii)		 X W X
Pot Mum or Florist's Chrysanthemum (Chrysantheium morifolium) X N W X
Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica)
W

Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata "Bostoniensis")
W

Kimberly queen fern (Nephrolepis obliterata)
W
X
Dwarf date palm (Phoenix roebelenii)
W
X
Areca palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens)


X
Dendrobium orchid (Dendrobium sp.)


X
Dumb cane (Camilla) (Dieffenbachia)


X
Dumb cane (Exotica)(Dieffenbachia)


X
King of hearts (Homalomena wallisii)


X
Moth orchid (Phalenopsis sp.)


X

The recommendation of NASA is to use 15 to 18 good-sized houseplants in six- to eight-inch (203 mm) diameter containers in a 1,800-square-foot (170 m2) house.

Foliage

Most of the plants on the list evolved in tropical or subtropical environments. Due to their ability to flourish on reduced sunlight, their leaf composition allows them to photosynthesize well in household light.

Soil

The amount of exposed surface soil is also important, as microorganisms in the soil consume trace amounts of airborne toxins as well.