Spider Plant - Green Edge / White Middle Foliage: C. comosum 'Vittatum'

Spider Plant

Green Edge / White Middle

Foliage: C. comosum 'Vittatum'

$3.95 Rooted Plant 3" Pot Size

Plant Care & Info

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.

The inflorescences carry plantlets at the tips of their branches, which eventually droop and touch the soil, developing adventitious roots. The stems (scapes) of the inflorescence are called "stolons" in some sources, but this term is more correctly used for stems which do not bear flowers, and have roots at the nodes.

There are three described varieties of the species: the autonym C. comosum var. comosum has strap-shaped narrow leaves and is found along forest margins, C. comosum var. bipindense has broader, petiolate leaves with stripes on the underside and the inflorescences are 2-3 times the length of the leaves, and C. comosum var. sparsiflorum also has broader leaves that narrow to the base and usually lacks a petiole and the striping on the underside of the leaf and the inflorescences are up to two times the length of the leaves.

Chlorophytum comosum is a popular houseplant. The species with all-green leaves forms only a small proportion of plants sold. More common are two variegated cultivars:

C. comosum 'Vittatum' has mid-green leaves with a broad central white stripe. It is often sold in hanging baskets to display the plantlets. The long stems are white.
C. comosum 'Variegatum' has darker green leaves with white margins. It is generally smaller than the previous cultivar. The long stems are green.

Both cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

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.