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Discover the Green Side: 14 Fun and Fascinating Facts About House Plants You Need to Know

illustration of house-plants
Get ready to be rooted in astonishment as you leaf through these fascinating fun facts about your friendly, photosynthesizing roommates – houseplants!

1. Indoor Air Quality Champions

Whoever said "plants just sit there and do nothing" must be choking on their own words now. Or maybe it's the volatile organic compounds in the air: Turns out, house plants are the unsung heroes of indoor air quality! NASA research discovered that these leafy warriors eliminate up to 87% of harmful chemicals like those found in rugs, vinyl, cigarette smoke, and paint – making your home a respiratory haven and giving a whole new meaning to "breathing room."
Source => bioadvanced.com

2. Peace Lily vs. iAdaptAir®

Don't call them space cadets, but peace lilies sure have NASA credentials: Despite their ability to remove trichloroethylene (TCE) in space-like environments, studies show that in regular homes, an iAdaptAir® air purifier is 92.97% more effective at reducing TCE than the potted space-farer.
Source => airoasis.com

3. The Rubber Tree's Hidden Talent

If your rubber tree could talk, it would probably say, "I'm not just a pretty face, I'm a breath of fresh air!": These green wonders not only pump out oxygen like it's going out of style, but they also moonlight as air-purifying experts, evicting mold spores, bacteria, and notorious party crashers like formaldehyde and algonema.
Source => architecturaldigest.com

4. Snake Plant Sorcery: Beauty and Danger

When the snake charmer doubles as a home decorator: Snake plants not only enthrall with their serpentine air-purifying vibes, but also withstand droughts and shady environments like a true celebrity of the plant kingdom. Beware though, their devilish charm comes at a cost, as they hold a toxic secret for curious pets.
Source => natalielinda.com

Devil's Ivy: Rabbit Gene Remix

5. Devil's Ivy: Rabbit Gene Remix

Hopping into a cleaner atmosphere: Scientists have spliced a trickster rabbit gene into the seemingly innocent devil's ivy, creating a lean, mean, air purifying machine that significantly reduces harmful chemicals like benzene and chloroform – in just eight days, it can hop down the benzene trail, knocking off about 75% of it. Though not yet welcomed into European hare-y households due to legislative hiccups, this gene-savvy ivy could potentially revolutionize the indoor air quality game.
Source => theguardian.com

6. Rubber Plant: The Green Detective

If you're looking to spruce up your home life by inviting in a no-nonsense, pollution-busting green roommate that could almost moonlight as a private detective, you might want to consider the rubber plant: This unassuming houseplant is a veritable superhero in disguise, not only adorning your living space with its glossy leaves but also impressively purifying the air by removing harmful toxins like formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene, as proven by the NASA Clean Air Study.
Source => houseplantalley.com

7. The Horticultural Hush Brigade

Ever thought of inviting a horticultural hush brigade to your home? Well, it's high time you did, as these green silencers are in full bloom and ready for dispatch! Get ready for some au naturel noise reduction: Certain indoor plants, such as baby's tears, ferns, Janet Craig plants, Norfolk Island Pine, Areca palms, fiddle leaf figs, money trees, peace lilies, rubber plants, and weeping figs can absorb up to 50% of sound energy in your living spaces. Not only do these stealthy botanic bouncers amp up your interior aesthetics, but they also bring serenity to your sacred spaces.
Source => omysa.com

8. The Multitalented Jasmine Plant

Jasmine plants: they're not just for Aladdin and Princess Jasmine's romantic getaways on magic carpets anymore! Swapping genies for greenery, these aroma-filled wonders provide not just fragrance, but a whole menu of health benefits: From being a natural antiseptic and wound healer to relaxing muscles with their essential oils, jasmine also assists in managing diabetes by promoting the production of pancreatic β-cells, and converting starch to glucose like a fairy godmother of the botanical world.
Source => balconygardenweb.com

9. Rubber Fig Plant: The Busy Owner's Best Friend

Are you a forgetful, dimly-lit dwelling plant parent in need of a green companion with a strange talent for inhaling your toxins and exhaling life-giving oxygen? Have no fear, the rubber fig plant is here to save the day, and your indoor air: This heroic houseplant, as studied by NASA, not only adds a touch of style to any space but is a master at absorbing airborne chemicals and converting our exhaled carbon dioxide into oxygen. Its large leaves effortlessly gobble up air and toxins, while bacteria in the soil convert these aerial miscreants into delicious plant food, making this drought-resistant wonder the perfect sidekick for even the most absent-minded plant owners.
Source => beaire.com

Houseplants Boosting Immunity

10. Houseplants Boosting Immunity

Plant fever is ready to sweep the nation, and love them or leaf them, it's about to get immune-y in here: Houseplants, especially those with broad leaves and pointed tips, release phytoncides, volatile organic compounds that enhance our immune system by stimulating the production of natural killer cells, our front-line warriors against viral infections.
Source => medium.com

11. Boston Fern: Space-worthy Air Purifier

Who needs a NASA-approved spaceship when you can bring a slice of space right into your living room with a Boston fern? Houston, we have a solution: These frilly green wonders don't just up your home décor game; they're top-notch air purifiers that can tackle common airborne pollutants like formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene. Plus, they double as natural humidifiers, banishing dry skin and respiratory woes to another galaxy with their moisture-restoring powers.
Source => rollingnature.com

12. Boston Fern: Humidity Wizard

Ready to fern-ish your home with a touch of elegance and a breath of fresh air, while keeping that humidity in check? Meet the Boston Fern, your personal moisture magician: This charming houseplant not only elevates your interior aesthetic but also functions as a natural humidifier, with Clean Air Studies proving its prowess in enhancing air quality by balancing moisture levels and purging specific indoor pollutants.
Source => gardenhealth.com

13. Marantas: Fashionable Houseplant Chameleons

Meet the Mar-antas: the chameleons of the houseplant kingdom, switching up their patterns like a socialite at fashion week! In all seriousness: prayer plants come in several varieties, each boasting a unique leaf color and pattern, from the tri-colored erythrophylla to the rabbit's tracks kerchoveana, ensuring there's always a perfect maranta for your preferred aesthetic.
Source => bobvila.com

14. A Green Boost for Office Productivity

Who needs a cup of Joe when you have a pot of Jane? Say 'aloe' to your new lovable coworkers: Having plants in your workspace can actually improve attention and cognitive function, as discovered by a study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology. Participants who worked in a room with plants performed better on attention capacity tasks than those in plant-less rooms, proving that greenery may just be the key to keeping your mind refreshed and focused.
Source => scientificamerican.com

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