Plants for Your Health at Home

Recently, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Philippines has undertaken a huge project of planting trees along national highways to fight pollution. This is a laudable project indeed considering that each year, there are more and more vehicles on the road, and less and less control on outdoor pollutants. While in general trees (such as rubber plants) absorb pollution in the air, some plants, not necessary trees, have higher capacity to clear the air we breathe. Some of these include bamboo palms, areca palms, dwarf cavendish, rhapis excelsa, peace lilies and sansevieria (mother-in-law's tongue), to name a few.

While our concern for outside pollutants need our concerted effort, equally important is the pollution inside our homes. Carpets, shopping bags, gas cookers, photocopiers, tissue paper, TV sets, computer screens, varnishes, adhesives, floor coverings, synthetic furnishings, wood stains pour chemicals into our homes known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Examples of these chemicals we are exposed to indoors are acetone, mythel alcohol, benzene, ammonia, formaldehyde, toluene, xylene, trichloromethylene, chloroform and other chemical toxins.

Certain plant species varied in their uptake of different chemicals, but were found to be very effective at uptake of VOCs. NASA scientists brought houseplants to create breathable atmospheres for space exploration, which can actually help us purify our homes. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air can be up to 10 times more polluted than outdoor air, and our increasingly sedentary life means we spend up to 90% of our time indoors.

It is estimated that an average 1,800 square foot energy efficient home would need 15 average-sized Mother-in-law's Tongue (Sansevieria Launretii) or 6 large Bamboo Palms (Chamaedorea Seifritzii) to maintain a formaldehyde-free air. Some researchers recommend at least 2-3 plants per 100 square feet ideally within your personal breathing zone (next to your work area and sleeping area).

It is surprisingly inexpensive to maintain clean air with house plants that it makes buying expensive air filters impractical and unreasonable.

These plants are available at any regular plant store, but a more complete variety can be found at the Manila Seedling Bank Foundation located at the corner of EDSA and Quezon Avenue, Philippines.