Houseplants Offer Feast for Both Lungs and Eyes

The world's forests, and most particularly the tropical rain forest of the Amazon Basin, are described as the lungs of the planet for their ability to remove contaminants from the air as they exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen.

And you don't need to sell the farm and head off to the jungle to take advantage of the phenomenon. A horticultural study has revealed the surprising extent to which houseplants make our living spaces not just more visually appealing, but more healthy as well by virtue of their taking harmful airborne chemicals out of the way of our next breath.

Indoor air quality problems are not quite as dramatic and attention-grabbing as other environmental or public health matters, but the EPA informs us of the potential pitfalls and the very common and often overlooked causes of poor indoor air quality. They may stem from some combination of poor ventilation and circulation, tobacco use, cleaning products or from our furnishings, paint and carpet. And some very real health problems have been known to arise as a result of bad indoor air.

Enter the houseplant. Behold its happy, green, possibly flowered glory. Water it, feed it, talk to it. Treat it well, as it may be removing some very nasty compounds from your indoor air.

Science Daily informs us of a study recently published in the journal HortScience, arising from the investigative efforts led by University of Georgia researcher Dong Sik Yang. The team investigated more than two dozen varieties of common houseplants and found that they were effective agents of household change.Volatile organic compounds were the primary focus of the investigation, as several classes of VOCs are principally to blame for the fact that, as Science Daily notes, indoor air quality can be several times worse than outdoor air quality.

The Georgia team found some plants more effective than others at removing the different classes of harmful hydrocarbons from the air, and accordingly they recommend selecting a variety of household plants not just to mix things up visually, but to provide the greatest level of air quality improvement.

Among the plant varieties found to be particularly helpful in providing the air purification benefits are the purple waffle plant, English ivy and variegated wax plant. Of particular interest are the purple heart plant and the asparagus fern, which were found to successfully remove of all four major VOC categories included in the study.

Photo courtesy of Erin Silversmith, via WIkimedia Commons