50 of the absolute best indoor plants and why you need them

Do you have a green thumb? Or maybe you have one but live in a place that doesn’t offer the light and environment you need.

Maybe you just don’t have the time to look after house plants and would prefer to look at them in their natural habitat.

Did you know there are many valid reasons for growing plants indoors? Plants help purify the air, and some even have various health benefits.

Here’s a list of 50 plants that you can bring indoors and the properties that make them beneficial for you, whether health wise or otherwise. There is a little overlap in some cases since some plants have multiple benefits.

1. Arrowhead plant.

Great for low light situations. It comes in a variety of shades of green with large arrowhead like leaves.

2. Calathea

These large green leaves have a lighter shade of green in the middle, plus silver highlights. They’re great for low light, but you need to watch the tips of the plant for dryness. If they are dry, they need more humidity.

3. Corn plant.

This plant is adaptable and can be grown in either low or bright light. If grown in low light, they are a lighter shade of green and will grow slower.

4. Lucky bamboo

while these plants love low light, they can benefit from some sunlight as well. This is a sculptural plant that grows the very slowly.

5. Monstera

This one will need room to grow. The leaves themselves can grow up to 2 feet wide. In low light situations it grows slowly.

6. Nerve Plant

This is a nice compact plant that only grows 6 to 12 inches tall. It works well in low light situations, however, will be less colorful.

7. Ponytail Palm

this is a low maintenance plant that does not need to be watered often as it stores moisture in its trunk. It will adapt to a variety of lighting conditions, and can be kept at tabletop size.

8. Snake Plant

With spikey, sword-like leaves that grow in a variety of widths, this is another low light plant. A great choice for your home office.

9. Spider Plant

If you have several spots for plants, this is a great one to start off with. It’s good for low light, but it also produces lots of baby plants.

10. ZZ Plant

I have to say I’d never heard of this plant. It’s got nice glossy leaves and it’s low maintenance. Meaning you can occasionally forget to water it.

11. Aloe Vera

Do you live somewhere where you suffer from cold winters? Many houseplants dislike winter as much as we do. Aloe Vera is one that can handle the challenge.

12. Anthurium.

Otherwise known as Waves of Love, this plant is winter proof and grows easily. Plus it has a profusion of beautiful red blue.

13. Colorama Madagascar Dragon Tree.

With a strong root system that could survive a drought, you don’t need to worry about watering often. It’s easy to grow indoors and it over winters well.

14. Dumb Cane

Word of warning. The leaves of this plant are poisonous. However, it will adapt to most indoor environments.

15. English Ivy

This is a great winter plant that grows fast and is easy to care for. It does well in low light and only needs watering when the soil is dry.

16. Hawaiian Umbrella Tree

This gets its name from the shape of its leaves. Yes, they look like an umbrella. It’s easy to care for, does fine in a dry winter house, and has no issues with artificial lighting.

17. Parlor Palm

Try this plant if you are known for killing whatever plants you have. They are nearly impossible to kill and can survive nearly any condition.

18. Philodendron

With its heart-shaped leaves, this an another hard to kill plant. It can grow anywhere except in full sun. Place it out of the sun and it will thrive, and filter toxins out of the air.

19. Purple Swedish Ivy

This plant can do double duty as an indoor and outdoor plant. Leave it out in the summer and bring it in for the winter.

20. Watermelon peperomia

This is a gorgeous plant with leaves that look like little watermelons. It doesn’t require any babying and it easy to grow.

21. Areca Palm

This is a great plant for the bedroom, since it can help humidify the area around it. It’s also ranks high for its ability to formaldehyde, xylene, carbon monoxide, and toluene from the air

22. Boston Fern

This plant needs a little love but it’s worth it. Simply mist it every day and its lush foliage will work to remove toxins from the air while improving humidity.

23. Dracaena Plant

Who needs to buy an air purifier? You’ll never need to worry about the motor going on this, and it will remove xylene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde from the air.

24. Peace Lily

Not only is this a gorgeous plant, it works to remove harmful chemicals from the air. It loves indirect sunlight and will only need watering about once a week.

25. Rubber Plant

One of the most common toxins in the air is formaldehyde. If you know that to be an issue in your surroundings, this is the plant you need, as it will help get rid of it.

26. Scindapsus

Another good choice if formaldehyde is a concern. It’s great at clearing the air, so your lungs will be happy.

27. Snake Plant

Not only is this plant low maintenance, it works hard to remover airborne toxins. It’s an excellent choice for improving indoor air quality.

28. Spider Plant

A lot of household products contain formaldehyde. Things like adhesives, grout, fillers, glue, even permanent-press fabrics. Spider plants to a great job of filtering it out.

29. Weeping Fig

Carpets are also know for several chemical pollutants. This plant will filter formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene.

30. Aloe Vera

Sometimes hard to find, these are great houseplant. They help purify the air and their great to have on hand for soothing burns.

31. Barberton Daisy.

Do you always have a painting job on the go? You might want to have a few of these in the house, as they are effective in clearing out the household toxins often found in paint.

32. Broad Lady Palm.

These days, many of us are cleaning our homes with harsh chemicals much more than we used to. This plant will help reduce the levels of ammonia that are often found in these chemicals.

33. Chinese Evergreen.

Many detergents and cosmetics contain benzene. The Chinese Evergreen has been proven effective when it comes to filtering this chemical.

34. Chrysanthemum.

Not only is it beautiful, it’s an air purifier. As with many other plans, it’s able to filter chemicals often found in plastics or detergents.

35. English Ivy.

This is a perfect plan for the bathroom. It’s easy to grow, but more importantly it works to reduce airborne fecal particles. It’s also known to help with the spread of mold.

36. Red-Edged Dracaena.

Many industrial solvents contain trichloroethylene and xylene. This plant will help filter them from the air.

37. Bamboo Palm.

This plant has excellent properties in maximizing air-quality and repelling insects. It can clear out chloroform, carbon monoxide, xylene, and formaldehyde.

38. Gerber Daisies.

Their small, they’re cute, and the colorful. Even better, they will help control benzene, which is a byproduct of cigarette smoke.

39. Golden Pothos.

This is an easy plant to grow. It’s also known to thrive on less than perfect light situations. It can help eliminate odors and is known reduce eye irritation.

40. Bird’s Nest Fern.

This pet friendly fern is easy to grow and doesn’t require a lot of light. It’s also an excellent choice for purifying the air

41. Calathea Rattlesnake.

Despite the scary name, this plant is pet friendly. It’s an excellent air purifier, but it also has an interesting feature. The leaves close at night and then reopen in the morning.

42. Echeveria Lola.

This is a small succulent that this would be great for windowsills. It is pet friendly and only needs to be watered every few weeks.

43. Haworthia Zebra.

An excellent choice for removing toxins from the air and cleansing it. This plant is also pet friendly and easy to take care of.

44. Money Tree .

So there really is a money tree. Who knew? This is a cat friendly, low-maintenance plant.

45. Peperomia Green.

This can help increase humidity in the home, making it a great winter plant. It can also reduce carbon dioxide levels as well as a variety of pollutants.

46. Staghorn Fern.

Looking for a plant that doesn’t spread and take up a lot of room? This plant grows vertically, and while doing so does an excellent job purifying the air in your home.

47. Jasmine.

I think we all needed to have this plant in our homes in 2020. The scent of Jasmine is said to help alleviate anxiety, panic attacks, and depression.

48. Ficus Alii.

This is an excellent plant for improving indoor air quality. Ficus are a great choice if you want to filter out pollutants from the home.

49. Rhapis Palm.

According to a NASA study, this plant is one of the best when it comes to clearing the air of ormaldehyde, ammonia, xylene and toluene. These indoor pollutants are often found in homes.

50. Mass Cane.

Believe it or not, many household products contain formaldehyde. This plant is considered to be the best plan for removing it from the air.

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