9. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
Chlorophytum comosum, often called spider plant but also known as airplane plant, St. Bernard’s lily, spider ivy, ribbon plant, and hen and chickens is a flowering perennial herb.
It is native to tropical and southern Africa, but has become naturalized in other parts of the world, including western Australia.
Chlorophytum comosum is easy to grow as a houseplant; variegated forms are the most popular.
Chlorophytum comosum has a widespread native distribution in Africa, being native to six of the 10 World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions regions of Africa (West Tropical Africa, West-Central Tropical Africa, Northeast Tropical Africa, East Tropical Africa, South Tropical Africa and Southern Africa)
Spider plants are easy to grow, being able to thrive in a wide range of conditions. They will tolerate temperatures down to 2 °C (35 °F), but grow best at temperatures between 18 °C (65 °F) and 32 °C (90 °F). Plants can be damaged by high fluoride or boron levels.
Spider plants have also been shown to reduce indoor air pollution in the form of formaldehyde, and approximately 70 plants would neutralize formaldehyde production in a representative (ca. 160 m2 [1,700 sq ft]) energy-efficient house.