TOP 10 CLEAN AIR PLANTS

According to NASA, plants are nature’s life support system. The seminal Clean Air Study it undertook in the late 1980s found that the following were among the most effective at filtering toxins and pollutants from the air:

1 CHINESE EVERGREEN A lush-leaved, tough plant that can cope with drying out. Ideally it needs medium light but can tolerate shade. You can add colour by choosing a variety that has patterned foliage.

2 FLAMINGO FLOWER Another robust plant that can put up with a bit of neglect and offers more or less continuous colour. It requires a medium amount of light.

3 SPIDER PLANT As long as it gets a decent amount of light, this popular choice will pretty much look after itself.

4 CORN PLANT Really hardy, it can take low light and will tolerate drying out.

Also stays neat and compact.

5 DEVIL’S IVY Needs bright to medium light, but can cope with drying out. This great trailing plant will look particularly effective on a shelf.

6 WEEPING FIG Place this in a bright spot and leave it there as it hates being moved. Very good at processing toxins and will thrive if well looked after. Don’t let it dry out.

7 MOTH ORCHID Pretty, affordable, easily available and relatively tough. Give it a fairly bright spot