The ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) is an aroid. All aroids contain calcium oxalate crystals but so does Parsley, Chives, Cassava, Spinach, Beet leaves, Carrot, Radish, Collards, Bean, Brussels sprouts, Garlic, Lettuce, Watercress, Sweet potato, Turnip, Broccoli, Celery, Eggplant, Cauliflower, Asparagus, Cabbage, Tomato, Pea, Turnip greens, Potato, Onion, Okra, Pepper, Squash, Cucumbers, Corn and quite a few other vegetables. You eat it almost daily and sometimes you don't like the taste. Guess why? People, especially kids, often don't like the taste. Do you think that might explain why kids don't like spinach? Aroids have been eaten by humans for over 10,000 years. The Chinese began to develop aroids as a commercial food crop long ago and many are now served in Asia, Polynesia, Hawaii, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Have you ever eaten Poi in Hawaii or Callaloo in Jamaica? That is an aroid known to science as Colocasia esculenta. Now I would never recommend anyone deliberately take a bite of an aroid since calcium oxalate crystals can burn your mouth and throat. There have been only two cases anyone can verify where the person had severe reactions but in almost all cases a doctor will only observe the patient to make sure some other problem is not observed and then send them home to recover. There is a big difference between a "poison" and a plant that tastes bad but people on the internet cannot seem to make that distinction. So how does all this "junk science" end up on the internet, especially on pet websites and those that warn new mothers? Someone reads something they don't fully understand and assumes they mean "poisonous". They then tell a friend all aroids are poisonous. The friend believes them and repeats it but likely with some embellishment. The next friend does the same and on and on it goes. Finally the last friend to hear it posts it on the internet and thousands of people read it and immediately accept it as the truth without opening a single scientific text. The problem is now so widespread I have been receiving mail asking "if I touch a ceramic pot that contains a ZZ plant, will I die". My first response is "hogwash" and my first question is "where did you read this? I serve on the board of governors of the International Aroid Society and am encouraging our board to post an article on the IAS website www.Aroid.org in which one of our scientists will finally post the scientific facts about aroids and calcium oxalate crystals. Most of you don't believe everything you receive in your mailbox claiming "Canola oil is a poison", "Saran Wrap in the microwave can kill you", or "there are needles in gas pumps all over the world containing the HIV virus". We question such crazy claims but we just accept an equally crazy notion if it is found on a website! If a cat or other animal takes a nibble of an aroid they will likely never touch it again since it tastes bad. The plants contain tiny needle-like raphides that can irrigate your mouth and throat. But if they come back there must be some attractant so the best you can do is keep it out of reach. Are you aware the so called "deadly" Dieffenbachia is regularly eaten by a specific tribe of Indians in Ecuador? I have a friend that has eaten it and she says it is delicious! I have eaten aroids for many years and love them. You can buy aroid cookbooks on Amazon.com If you have accepted such stories as fact please take just a few minutes and read this link. Once you check the scientific sources quoted you may just change your mind. Steve Lucas www.ExoticRainforest.com Secretary, The International Aroid Society Here is a link that might be useful: Facts about Calcium Oxalate Crystals

Greetings from New Braunfels, Tx. I just wanted to tell you I have alto-caerulea passionvine and it definately does host gulf frits. If fact, when I bought it I picked out the one plant that had the most eggs on it, and the female was still trying to lay eggs on it, as I was taking it to the car. The guy who checked me out, tried to discretly pick off two gulf frit cats that were on the plant, and I very politely but firmly told him I wanted them there! I guess non butterfly lovers think we're kind of crazy. I live on a creek and have numerous hackberry trees, so I have lots of question marks, hackberry emperors, and tawny emperors. All of these love rotting fruit, and are very easily attracted by it. In fact, to make it more appealing to them, put aside your rotting fruit in an airtight container, add a little dry yeast and molasses to it, and let it ferment, then pour the liquid out on a plate for them. They go bonkers over it! It's fun to watch them. Some actually get a little drunk on it too. One thing I'm learning in planting my first butterfly garden this year, is it's all trial and error. What works for some people in some areas doesn't work the best for everyone. I've already pulled out several plants that weren't working, and add more weekly it seems. I'm running out of flower beds. Pretty soon my yard will be one huge flower bed, but that's okay with me. I love it!

Anyone had Orthosiphon Aristatus (Cat's Whiskers) plants for trade? Please take a look at my trade list- SEEDS: *Acalypha hispaniolae (Cat tails, Kitten's tails) *Agstache rugosa (Korean Mint) *Albizia julibrissin (Silk Tree, Mimosa Tree) *Alcea rosea 'Nigra' (Black antwerp Hollyhock) *Allium (Purple Tall Chives) *Allysum Carpet of Snow *Amaryllis Red *Angelonia *Annona squamosa (Sugar Apple, Sweetsop) *Antirhium majus 'Montega rose bicolor': *Ardisia squamulosa tree *Arrowroot- Red *Arum italicum *Asclepias currasavica (Orange and yellow butterfly weed) *Asclepias currasiva 'Silky Gold' *Asclepias tuberosa (Orange) *Asian Gummy melon *Astromeria Parrot Lily *Averrhoa Carambola (Belimbing, Star Fruit) *Baby's breath *Balsam Heirloom Impatiens - single/double flowers *Bauhinia purpurea (Pink Orchid Tree) *Belamcanda Candy Lily *Blanket flower *Bulbing Fennel *Butia capitata (Pindo/Wine/Jelly Palm) *Cactus Prickly Pear *Calamondin orange *Callicarpa americana (American beautyberry) *Camillia, pink *Canna seeds - mixed *Capsicum annuum 'Medusa' (Medusa Pepper Plant) *Cassia Alata *Capsicum 'Medusa' (Medusa Hot Pepper) *Cattail, Dwarf (Aquatic) *Centaurea cyanus (Bachelor buttons) *Cerinthe major purpurascens (Blue Honeywort) *Cherimoya/Atemoya *Chimonanthus praecom (Wintersweet Shrub) *Cichorum endivia 'Curly' *Clematis Autumn sweet *Clematis Nelly Moser' *Cleome hassleriana (Spider flower) *Cornus florida *Crotalaria spectabilis *Cypress Vine, White *Danish squash *Duranta erecta *Datura purple swirl *Datura, white with purple cast *Daucus carota (Wild Carrot) *Delphinium consolida (Giant Imperial Larkspur) *Dietes vegeta (African Iris, Butterfly Iris) *Dioscorea bulbifera (Air Potato Vine) *Echinacea (Pink Coneflower) *Echinacea Tennesee *Emilia javanica (Tassel Flower) *Enterolobium cyclocarpum (Ear Pod Tree, Elephantâs Ear, Monkey Ear) *Gaillardia x grandiflora (Indian Blanket) *Madagascar Jasmine vine *Gomphrena purple *Gourds, ornamental 'Small Autumn Wings' *Grapefruit *Guava *Gypsophila elegans (Baby's Breath 'Convent Garden') *Helianthus debilis (Beach sunflower) *Hibiscus cannabinus *Hibiscus sabdariffa (Florida Cranberry) *Hibiscus Texas Star, Red *Hollyhock, mixed, single *Honeydew melon *Honeysuckle (red-orange) *Ipomoea hederacea (Morning Glory lavender-pink) *Ipomoea quamoclit (Cypress Vine) *Iris pseudacorus (Yellow Flag Iris) *Jerusalem cherry *Koelreuteria Paniculata (Golden Rain Tree) *Kum Quat *Lagerstroemia indica 'Rosea' (Pink Crepe Myrtle) *Lantana mixed colors ­ seeds *Larkspur, Giant Imperial *lathyrus perennial blend *Lathyrus odoratus 'Ms Willmott' *Leucaena leucocephala (White Lead Tree) *Leonotis menthifolia (Lionâs Tail) *Liatris spicata (Gayfeather) *Lily Star Gazer *Lemon, yellow, thornless, very juicy *Liriope Muscari (Lily-turf ) *Lychnis calcydonica (Maltese cross) *Malva moschata (musk mallow) *Marigold, Tiger Eyes *Marigold, mixed *Medusa Hot Pepper *Melia azedarach (Chinaberry) *Merremia dissecta (Alamo Vine) *Merremia dissecta *Mexican Petunia, âChi Chiâ, pink, tall *Mexican Petunia, dwarf blue *Mexican Petunia, dwarf pink *Mexican Petunia, dwarf white Mirabilis jalapa (Four O'Clock)-different colors *Mimosa tree *Momordica charantia (Balsam Pear) *Moonflower, white *Morning Glory - Grandpa Ott, Heavenly Blue, Star of Yelta, Jamie Lynn,Rose Silk, Scarlet O Hara *Morning Glory - Ivy leaf *Morning Glory - tricolor *Morus alba - white mulberry *Mucuna Pruriens (Bengal Bean) *Musa Velutino Pink Fruiting Banana *Myosotis sylvatica (Forget-Me-Not) *Nerium oleander , pink *Olea europaeae (Olive Tree) *Optunia humifusa (Hardy Prickly Pear) *Orange fruit, Florida *Orange Trumpet Vine *Podranea ricasoliana (pink trumpet vine) *Papaver *Papaya 'Caribbean Red' *Perilla frutens (Shiso, red) *Periwinkle pink with white center *Periwinkle white with pink center *Phyllostachys pubescens (Mosso bamboo) *Platanus occidentalis (American Sycamore tree) *Pomegranate *Poppy (mixed) *Portulaca magic carpet mixed colors *Prunus spinosa *Pyracantha coccinea lalandi (Scarlet Firethorn) *Radermachera sinica (China Doll, Serpent Tree, Emerald Tree) *Redbud *Robina viscosa (Clammy locust) *Rosa Canina (Wild Rose) *Rhubarb *Sabal bermudana (Bermuda Fan Palm)* Sabal palmetto (Cabbage palmetto) *Sago Palm *Salvia coccinea âCoral Nymphâ *Salvia coccinea Hummingbird Sage *Salvia farinacea (Mealy Blue Sage) *Sapium sebiferum (Chinese Tallow, Popcorn Tree) *Senecio bicolor (Dusty Miller) *Senna alata candlesticks *Senna didymobotrya (Popcorn Cassia, Peanut Butter Cassia) *Sesbania panicea (Scarlet Wisteria) *Stachytarpheta urticifolia (Blue Porterweed *Stachys cretica *Sunflower mammoth *Sweet Pea *Sweet William *Talinum (Jewel of Opar) *Tecoma (Yellow Bells) *Tithonia (Mexican Torch) *Trumpet Vine, Orange *Trumpet Vine, pink *Urena Lobata (Caesarweed) *Withania somnifera 'Ashawaganda' (Indian Ginseng) *Zinnias, mixed More seeds - vegetable/fruits Angled loofah Apple, granny smity Bean, tricolor - gold, purple n green Cantaloupe 'vine peach Carrots- Big Top Danvers Half Long Chinese Greens- choy sum, sawi kangkong chinese chives gay lun gun choy Cucumber - Fuzzy gherkin Picollo di Parigi Honey Dew Royal Golden - fruit weights 10-15#, red sweet tender flesh Shark Fin (only 2 seeds) Swan lake Eggplant - Apple green Casper, white Chinese,Ping Tung Fennel - bulbing Trieste Smokey Bronze Gourds - 'crown of thorns', ornamental heirloom - birdhouse Autumn Wings, small, ornamental Long, black from India Maize, japonica Zea Mays, ornamental Black Aztec corn Melons- Asian Gummy Canoe Creek, green n orange, football shape, >20# wt charentais Chinese Winter Jenny Lind, heirloom cantaloupe, light green flesh, 1-2# wt Woman - Ukranian Heirloom, extremely sweet n fragrant, yellowish-white flesh, sz 7-10" (Gd for northern climate) mustard okra - Burgundy Green Lady, hybrid long horn Peppers, hot- Chinese chilly, hot Greek pepercini Scotch Bonnet Serrano Thai chilly, regular Serrano Thai chilly, purple Sweet Pepper- Alma Paprika Green pepper Pumpkin Chinese Pumpkin (From China) Small pumpkin- for pies Radish, red boy Rhubarb Rutabaga Salad greens- loose leaf red salad bowl big hoss butter lettuce red romaine Sorghum - Broomcorn White Popping Squash- Crookneck, yellow Danish Sphaghetti Winter squash Tomato - Cherry/grape Hess Pink Brandywine Speckled Roman, heirloom Tig Rovy Watermelon- 'moon n stars' Sweet Siberian PLANTS/CUTTINGS: Abelia Edward Goucher- cuttings Abelia Francis Mason- cuttings Acalypha hispaniolae (Cat tails, Kitten's tails)-plant Ajuga reptans 'Valfredda' Ajuga reptans 'Bronze Beauty' Allamanda schottii Bush, yellow - cuttings Aloe Vera American Agave (Century plant)-­ pup American Agave, variegated - pup Aptenia ice plant - cuttings Artimesia vulgaris 'Oriental Limelight' variegated Asperagus densiflorus "Sprengeri' - plant Calamondin orange - plant Callisia navicularis (Chain Plant) - cuttings Callisa repens (Bolivian Jew) - cuttings Canna Peach Gigantum rhizome Canna Florence Vaughn rhizome Canna Bengal Tiger Catalpa Soutern - cuttings Chickasaw Plum cuttings Chrysanthemums: yellow, violet Clereodendrum bungei Climbing Aloe -plant Conferate Jasmine - cuttings Cyclamen Cyperus involucratus (Umbrella Palm) - cuttings Cynotis somaliensis (Pussy Ears) - cuttings Delosperma cooperi (Hardy Yellow Ice Plant) Ice plant, purple Ice plant Aptenia Epipremnum pinnatum 'Aureum' (Pothos) Fig tree - sweet n juicy - rooted starts Gardenia - cuttings Gaura, white - plants Gaura, pink - plants Golden pothos - cuttings Heliconia Hanging Crab Claw Hibiscus Rose of Sharon 3-in-1 - plants/cuttings Hibiscus Rose of Sharon minerva, purple Hibiscus Rose Of Sharon, white cutting Hibiscus Rose of Sharon 'Blue Bird' cutting Iris yellow flag Japanese Boxwood - plant Jasmine shrub cuttings (from overseas with small white star-shaped, single-petaled fragrant flowers) Kalanchoe diagremontiana (Mother of Thousands) Kalanchoe fedschenkoi - plant Kalanchoe tubiflora (Chandelier Plant) - plant Lantana Camara (Lantana, mixed) Lantana creeping purple - cuttings Lemon, yellow- plant Lily, pink - plant Lily , white- plant Live Oak Seedlings Longanberry plant Lonicera sempervirens (Coral Honeysuckle) - cuttings Lonicera fragrantissima (Winter Honeysuckle) - cuttings Loropetalum (Chinese Fringe Tree) - cuttings Mexican Petunia - tall, Purple Mexican Petunia - tall, Pink Mexican Petunia - dwarf, purple Mexican Petunia - dwarf, Pink Mint, chocolate - plants Nephrolepis cordifolia (Southern Sword Fern) - plants Odontonema strictum. Red Firespike - plants or cuttings Oleander (have 4 types) - white, pink, yellow, red - cuttings Optunia ficus indica (Smooth Prickly Pear) pads Palm Pindo - seedlings Philodendron 'Brasil' cuttings Plumeria, white -cutting Podocarpus macrophyllus (Buddhist Pine) - cuttings Pyracantha Scarlet Firethorn - rooted starts/cuttings Rain Lily Pink - plants Rain Lily white - plants Rose cuttings - Almost Black Rose cuttings - Knockout, pink Rose cuttings - red climber -profuse bloomer Rose cuttings - shrub, huge blooms, pink - profuse bloomer Russelia equisetiformis (Firecracker Plant) - select either red or yellow Salvia Coral Nymph Salvia coccinea Hummingbird Sage Scilla Society Garlic Variegated Soceity Garlic Spider Plant - green Spider Plant, variegated Trachelospermum asiaticum 'Variegata' Trachelospermum jasminoides (Confederate Jasmine) cuttings Tradescantia pallida 'Purple Heart' Wandering Jew variegated cream and green - cuttings Wandering Jew Variegated green and white stripes - cuttings Wandering Jew Green with white flowers - cuttings Weigela, pink - cuttings Wisteria Purple -cuttings

MsGreenFinger GW(8 Ireland) I didn't base my post on scientific research. But I did look up articles about 'air purifying plants based on a NASA research' which are actually the most common house plants. (Palm, spider plant, Sans., english ivy, peace lily, boston fern etc) Maybe it does matter what kind of plant one has, how many, what size and how fast they grow. But I am sure, having a dozen large specimens in your home will make the air quality better, just as they make the life quality better. You also can read this interesting aticle: Can House Plants Solve IAQ Problems? The idea of common plants solving IAQ problems is attractive. Most people like having plants in their homes and offices and in the hotels, stores, and public buildings they visit. However, important questions exist as to whether plants can actually affect indoor air sufficiently to warrant their use as air cleaners. Can House Plants Solve IAQ Problems-2.pdf (PDF document 38Kb) This is from this article: To date, advocates have not reported the results from actual field tests. One field study was begun and failed, according to a strong advocate of the interiorscape approach to IAQ control. Stuart Snyder is the president of Aqua/Trends of Boca Raton, Florida, a firm that sells irrigation systems for interiorscapes. He offered his explanation as part of a 13-page letter to Robert Axelrad, Director of EPA's Indoor Air Division. Responding to what he calls EPA's criticism of the NASA work, Snyder wrote, “In many ways small systems are better able to isolate factors, and more clearly define mechanisms at work.... Larger environments are too subject to conflicting variables. Real life, field studies with their complex dynamics are also valuable, and should be implemented at later stages of research -- they are however, more difficult to accurately stage and evaluate” Snyder continued, “Scaled up studies must be made at some point. Associated Landscape Contractors of America have already attempted a controlled study in an office building. It failed as a study because of these difficulties.” The office-building study was done for over a year under realistic conditions and with as much control as can be achieved in a field study, There was no indication that the presence of plants had any measurable effect. HBI Inc., which conducted the study, reported virtually no effect of plants on the VOC concentrations. John R. Girman (Chief of the Analysis Branch at EPA's Indoor Air Division) has prepared a memo that details some shortcomings of the NASA study's claims for the efficacy of plants. The memo was included in correspondence between Axelrad and Snyder. Girman's memo responds to some of the technical issues presented by Snyder and other advocates of IAQ control with house plants. The memo's title is “Comment on the Use of Plants as a Means to Control Indoor Air Pollution,” (undated.) Girman analyzes the notion that NASA research shows plants are effective at removing indoor air pollutants at realistic concentrations and time frames. He calculates that at the most favorable conditions, it would take 680 plants in a typical house to achieve the same pollutant removal rate Wolverton and his colleagues reported they achieved in the test chamber. However, scale-up considerations are also important. It appears that the average chamber volume used in Wolverton's tests was 0.5 m3. This means the results must be appropriately scaled-up for use in a larger environment to allow for differences in volumetric loading (the number of plants per volume of space). This does not appear to have been done. The volume of a typical house in the U.S. is 340 m3 with a floor area of 139 m2 (1500 ft2). Thus, the recommendation that one plant be used per 100 ft2 implies the use of 15 plants in a typical house. [ALCA recommends 1 plant per 100 ft2. Wolverton recently told us he now recommends 2 or 3 plants/100 ft2, but he says “he is “just throwing a dart."] This would provide for 340 m3/15 plants or 23 m3 per plant, not 0.5 m3 per plant as in the chamber. This means that each plant would have to clean 46 times more volume than it did in the test chamber or, as would actually happen, it will clean the larger volume less effectively. To be more precise, each plant will have a pollutant removal rate which is only 1/46 of the rate it would have in the chamber, i.e., only 0.002 h-1. Thus, plants at the volumetric loading recommended would be expected to contribute relatively little to pollutant removal in any indoor environment with typical ventilation To achieve the same pollutant removal rate as realized in the test chamber, one would need to have the same volumetric loading, i.e., 680 plants in a typical house (340 m3 divided by 0.5 m3 per plant). This does not seem practical and this forms the basis for concern that adequate and realistic scale-up considerations are necessary before the use of plants can be recommended as a means to control IAQ. Similar concerns apply to the use of plants to control IAQ in office environments. It is hardly surprising that the attempt to validate the test chamber results by Associated Landscape Contractors of America did not provide measurable success ellenr22 - NJ - Zone 6b/7a(6b/7a) another option would be to not pollute the earth, the air. I agree with you but people need to vote for the right people in the elections to do that.