Linda Asks:

Several years ago, I read about house plants that are good for 'eating' unpleasant or toxic house odors.
I have forgotten what they were, except maybe the Peace Lily. I live in a small apartment, am not able to care for large or troublesome plants,  and have limited sunlight. Any suggestions?

Thanks for any help.

Staff reply:Thaks for your question. We touched lightly on this subject way back in our April, 2001 newsletter ( http://flowershopnetwork.com/pages/newsletter/NewsletterApril2001.php ). Many studies have shown that houseplants are effective at removing carbon dioxide and toxic gases such as formaldehyde from the indoor environment. Members of the easy-to-grow Aroid family– including peace lilies, philodendrons, Chinese evergreens and deiffenbachias — are especially effective at this, as are Areca palms, spider plants, ivies, and ficus trees. Interestingly, some of this research has been conducted by NASA, with the intention of studying closed, self-contained environments — such as a space craft — that can utilize plants to generate oxygen while removing toxic elements from the air.

Here is a link to an article from 'Peace and Environmemt News' that gives more details on the subject: http://perc.ca/PEN/2000-05/s-battle.html .

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