NASA scientist Bill Wolverton’s ground-breaking research on plants that help purify enclosed spaces such as space stations is useful in our own homes and work spaces (see the article Plants in Space).
Space agencies and companies around the world explored this area intensively for decades, including NASA, which has published Wolverton’s findings in a number of papers. Since retiring from the US space agency, Wolverton has continued to work in this area and has published two books along with articles that are well worth a look (see Resources).
His list of top 100 plants for purifying enclosed spaces is of particular benefit not only for homes but for the workplace where there is often little to no access to fresh air. In most contemporary multi-storey office buildings windows are not designed to be opened.
Wolverton’s list of plants is extensive and covers a broad range that caters for any style – lush tropical, arid desert, sculptural and architectural … you name it, there ‘s a plant that will fit your design there. There’s even plants that will survive those with the blackest of thumbs such as Corn Plant (Dracaena fragrans ‘Massangeana’) and Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata).
“Wolverton’s list of plants is extensive and covers a broad range that caters for any style.”
In the home space we particularly love the Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum sp,) as this tough performer thrives on neglect and always looks good.
Wolverton recommends one or two good-sized plants from his list of Top 10 performers for every 9.3m2 of area (see here).
A word of caution: don’t drown your house plants with love; it’s easy to kill your indoor plants with over-watering. We water less than most people and give indoor plants a deep drink the minute their leaves start to droop – in winter this can mean many months between drinks. While they’re draining is a good time to wash off any dust that collects on the leaves under the shower, like a rainfall would do.
BILL WOLVERTON
This US environmental engineer with a background in marine biology and chemistry worked as a scientist for the US Air Force and Navy before spending nearly 20 years for NASA researching how plants can combat toxins and pathogens in sealed space environments. His groundbreaking research has continued to have implications for the environment in which we live and work, and has influenced green building and architecture, and biophilic design. He has written two books, How to Grow Fresh Air (1996) and Plants: Why You Can’t Live Without Them (2010), and still works as an environmental consultant in the area of phytoremediation: using plants to clean our air, water and environment (www.wolvertonenvironmental.com).
RESOURCES
NASA Clean Air Report
Wolverton, B.C.; Douglas, W.L. and Bounds, K. (1989), Interior landscape plants for indoor air pollution abatement (Report). NASA. NASA-TM-101766.
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930073077.pdf
Wolverton, B.C. and J.D. Wolverton (1993), Plants and soil microorganisms: removal of formaldehyde, xylene and ammonia from the indoor environment. Journal of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences 38(2), pp11-15.
http://wolvertonenvironmental.com/MsAcad-93.pdf
Wolverton, B.C. (1996) How to Grow Fresh Air. New York: Penguin.
Wolverton, B.C. and Takenaka K. (2010) Plants: Why You Can’t Live Without Them, New York: Roli.
The NASA guide to air-filtering houseplants based on performance
https://imgur.com/gallery/pZKrtyE
Feb 19, 2016
Beautiful Houseplants That Clean Indoor Air (Bill Wolverton’s article ranks the performance of indoor plants)
https://bottomlineinc.com/life/home-improvements/beautiful-houseplants-that-clean-indoor-air
Aug 29, 2018
Can indoor plants really purify the air?
http://time.com/5105027/indoor-plants-air-quality/
Jan 17, 2018, Time Magazine