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Spider Plants

Several plants have the common name spider plant. In the past, painting subjects of ours have included spider lilies and spider chrysanthemums or mums. There are also spiderworts and spider orchids. The common name, spider plant, by itself without anything else is shared by several different plants. The one that is this week's painting subject has the Latin name Chlorophytum comosum. You might be familiar with it. It is a fairly common house plant.

Other common names for Chlorophytum comosum are spider ivy, airplane plant, ribbon plant, and hen and chicks.

The genus Chlorophytum is related to asparagus plants. It has about 200 species that are native to tropical and subtropical areas of Asia, Australia, and Africa. Chlorophytum comosum originated in Southern Africa, but has since become naturalized in other parts of the world.

Comparing the leaves in these two photos, it is easy to see differences in the width of the stripes. That is caused by mutation.

Chlorophytum comosum plants can grow up to 24 inches tall and individual leaves run from 8 to 18 inches long and up to an inch in width. They have fleshy roots where nutrients are stored.

Flowers grow on a special stem that can grow up to 30 inches in length. The blossoms have six petals and six stamens each.

Blossoms occur at intervals along the stem.

Blossoming can occur any time of the year if conditions are right, but it usually happens during the spring and summer. Individual blossoms only last a day, but blossoming for the plant as a whole lasts several weeks.

The flower-bearing stems can develop plantlets or pups at their tips which, if they touch the ground, can develop roots and grow into another whole plant through asexual reproduction. They are clones of the original plant. The idea is easily seen in plants growing in hanging baskets.

This feature is how it got its name, spider plant. The relatively small pups (plantlets) remind people of spiders hanging below by thin strands of spider silk. That is also where another of its common names, hens and chicks, came from.

When growing on the ground where the plantlets can come into contact with soil, spider plants are soon able to take over large spaces.

Spider plants can be grown from seed, too, but the process is much slower. The leaves of such plants are a solid green instead of being striped because the variegation is caused by mutation.

When the flowers have been pollinated, it takes from two to four weeks for the fruit, the seed heads, to mature.

When the seed heads turn brown, they are ready to be harvested. There are usually three seeds in each seed head.

Whether grown indoors or out, spider plants are popular to have around.