Hello friends in Hive. Today I am starting a weekly series called My Plant of the Week. Each week I will feature a plant of choice which may or may not be in my wife's garden. It could be a plant in my office, in a friend's house or something I saw along the way to somewhere. It's a series I hope can keep you informed of the different plants in my place and uses for them, aside from the aesthetics.
This week my plant of choice can be called a superhero plant. If you are wondering why I call it a superhero plant it is because the name is the same as the Marvel superhero The Amazing Spiderman. It is called The Amazing Spider Plant.
Seriously speaking though the Spider Plant is so named because of its spider-like plants, or spiderettes, which dangle down from the mother plant like spiders on a web. This plant has grown in popularity just like it's namesake in the Marvel world because apparently it does have powers of its own. Really? Yes, really. The spider plant has the ability to produce oxygen while purifying the air around the home or the office. It also acts as a detoxifying agent absorbing various chemicals and gases that can cause different kinds of illnesses and afflictions. Do you know that gas and chemicals are silently and secretly emitted from the most common of household appliances and materials? These are:
- Clothes dryers;
- Water heaters;
- Furnaces or boilers;
- Fireplaces, both gas and wood burning;
- Gas stoves and ovens;
- Plywood;
- Glue;
- Paper product coatings;
- Grills, generators, power tools, lawn equipment; and,
- Wood stoves.
Small doses of chemicals and gases such as carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and xylene are emitted from these and frequent breathing in of small amounts can cause headache, dizziness, drowsiness and nausea. But not to worry if you have this superhero plant to save the day as it will absorb these harmful elements in the air.
The Spider Plant is actually one of ten plants recommended by the NASA to be grown inside the home or office to help clean the air. You can check this study on the link here to know more about it.
It is also quite easy to grow. They are very sturdy. And even if they are exposed to direct sunlight for a long time they don't get affected except for some scorching of their leaves which can be removed without affecting the plant. Here are some pictures of our little ones which were taken from the spiderettes of the mother plants.
Another look at our cache of Spider Plants in the garden.
All for now. I hope this has been worth your time. Thank you for visiting and I do hope to see you again next week. Till then, please stay safe and healthy.
(All photos are mine.)