12/29/2015

Zamioculcas/ZZPlant/AroidPlant:PhilippineMedicinalHerbs/AlternativeMedicine

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Family Araceae

Zamioculcas

Zamioculcaszamiifolia(Lodd.etal)Engl.
ZZ PLANT
Jinqianshu

Scientific names
ZamioculcaszamiifoliaLodd.etal.
Zamioculcasloddigesii
Zamioculcaslanceolata
CaladiumzamiaefoliumLodd.etal.

Common names
Aroidpalm(Engl.)
Emeraldfronds(Engl.)
Goldentree(Engl.)
Succulentphilodendron(Engl.)
Zanzibargem(Engl.)
ZuZuplant(Engl.)
ZZplant(Engl)

Other vernacular names

CHINESE:Jinqianshu.

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General info

ZamioculcasisagenusoffloweringplantintheAraceaefamily,withthesinglespeciesZamioculcas.

Botany

Zuzuplantisanevergreenplantthatgrowsfromastoutunderground,succulentwaterstoringrhizome,
attainingaheightof45to60centimeters.Leavesarepinnate,40to60centimeterslong,with68pairs
ofleaflets7to15centimeterslong,smooth,shinyanddarkgreen.Flowersaresmallbrightyellowto
brownonbronzespadix5centimeterslong,partlyhiddenamongtheleafbases.

Distribution

CommonpotcultivationinthePhilippines.
Introduced.
NativetoeasternAfrica,fromKenyatonortheasternSouthAfrica.
WidescalecommercialpropagationbyDutchnurseriesaround1996.

Uses
Folkloric
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NoreportedfolkloricmedicinaluseinthePhilippines.
InthejunglesofGhana,leavesusedbyshamanstorelievestomachache.
Others
Consideredtohaveairpurifyingpropertyincludedinthelistof"PlantsthatDetoxifytheAir."

Caution !

Allpartsoftheplantarereportedpoisonousifingested.

Studies

Airpurifying:ResearchstudiesshowedZZtobeoneoftheplantsmosteffectiveincounteractingoff
gassedchemicalsandmaintainingabalancedinternalhumidity.(2)
Phytoremediation/BTEX:Zamioculcashasthepotentialofreducingtheconcentrationofbenzene,
toluene,ethylbenzene,andxylene(BTEX)fromcontaminatedindoorair.Benzene,asmallermolecule,is
takenupbyplantsfasterthantoluene,ethylbenzene,andxylene.ThetoxicityofBTEXonplantleaves
androotswasnotfound.(4)
XyleneRemoval:Studyevaluatedfifteenplantspeciesforremovalefficiencyofxylenefrom
contaminatedair.Amongthetestplants,Z.zamiifoliashowedthehighestxyleneremovalefficiency.(5)

Counterpoint

Canplantscontrolindoorairpollution?
Recentreportsinthemediaandpromotionsbythedecorativehouseplantindustrycharacterizeplantsas
"nature'scleanairmachine",claimingthatNationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration(NASA)
researchshowsplantsremoveindoorairpollutants.Whileitistruethatplantsremovecarbondioxide
fromtheair,andtheabilityofplantstoremovecertainotherpollutantsfromwateristhebasisforsome
pollutioncontrolmethods,theabilityofplantstocontrolindoorairpollutionislesswellestablished.Most
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researchtodateusedsmallchamberswithoutanyairexchangewhichmakesextrapolationtorealworld
environmentsextremelyuncertain.Theonlyavailablestudyoftheuseofplantstocontrolindoorair
pollutantsinanactualbuildingcouldnotdetermineanybenefitfromtheuseofplants69.Asapractical
meansofpollutioncontrol,theplantremovalmechanismsappeartobeinconsequentialcomparedto
commonventilationandairexchangerates.Inotherwords,theabilityofplantstoactuallyimprove
indoorairqualityislimitedincomparisonwithprovisionofadequateventilation.
Whiledecorativefoliageplantsmaybeaestheticallypleasing,itshouldbenotedthatoverdamp
plantersoilconditionsmayactuallypromotegrowthofunhealthymicroorganisms.(3)

Availability

Ornamentalcultivation.

LastUpdatedJuly2014

PhotosGodofredoStuart/StuartXchange
SOURCES

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings

(1)
Zamioculcas/AvianWeb
(2)
PlantsthatCleanPollutantsoutoftheAir
(3)
IndoorAirPollution:AnIntroductionforHealthProfessionals/Canplantscontrolindoorairpollution?/
EnvironmentalProtectionAgency
(4)
PhytoremediationofBTEXfromIndoorAirbyZamioculcaszamiifolia/WaranatSriprapat,Paitip
Thiravetyan/WaterAirandSoilPollution(ImpactFactor:1.75).224(3)./DOI:10.1007/s112700131482
8
(5)
FactorsaffectingxylenecontaminatedairremovalbytheornamentalplantZamioculcaszamiifolia./
BioMedSearch.com
Itisnotuncommonforlinksonstudies/sourcestochange.Copyingandpastingtheinformationonthesearchwindoworusingthe
DOI(ifavailable)willoftenredirecttothenewlinkpage.

Latest Updated Tagalog and English Lists of Philippine Medicinal Plants

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BahayKubo

TheMedicinalPlantSong

AlternativeMedicineDictionary
UnAbbreviated Dialect Sources of Common and Local Names

PlantNames
ListofPhilippineMedicinalPlantswithChineseNames

HOMESEARCHEMAIL

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