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Spathiphyllum
Also called Peace Lily, Peace Lillies, Spaths
In Singapore: Dwarf Peace Lily, Peace Lily, Spatheflower (Grown in Singapore)
Spathiphyllum is a genus of about 59 evergreen perennial plants in the arum family, native to tropical Americas and Southeast Asia, with glossy leaves and white spathes; the common peace lilies are grown mainly as houseplants. Keep them in shade or bright indirect light and keep the soil lightly moist.
Spathiphyllum is a genus of 59 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas and southeastern Asia. Certain species of Spathiphyllum are commonly known as spath or peace lilies.
They are evergreen herbaceous perennial plants with large leaves 12–65 centimetres (4.7–25.6 in) long and 3–25 centimetres (1.2–9.8 in) broad. The flowers are produced in a spadix, surrounded by a 10–30 centimetres (3.9–11.8 in) long, white, yellowish, or greenish spathe. The plant does not require large amounts of light or water to survive. It is most often grown as a houseplant. However, it can withstand the elements well enough to thrive when planted outdoors in hot and humid environments.
Spathiphyllum are popular houseplants due to their attractive dark foliage and contrasting white flowers, easy care, and variety of cultivars available of different sizes. Commercially, Spathiphyllum plants are typically propagated by plant tissue culture, then potted up to multi-well plastic trays, then on into larger containers containing peat, pine bark, vermiculite, and/or coir. Plants grow best between 70 and 90 °F (21 and 32 °C). Once at a size ready for sale, plants are sprayed with gibberellic acid, which induces flowering 9 to 12 weeks after a single treatment.
It lives best in shade and needs little sunlight to thrive, and is watered approximately once a week. The soil is best left moist but only needs watering if the soil is dry.
Although it is called a "lily", the peace lily is not a true lily from the family Liliaceae. True lilies are highly toxic (poisonous) to cats and dogs, but the peace lily, Spathiphyllum is only mildly toxic to humans and other animals when ingested. Like many Araceae, it contains calcium oxalate crystals, which can cause skin irritation, a burning sensation in the mouth, difficulty swallowing, and nausea, but it does not contain the toxins found in true lilies, which can cause acute kidney failure in cats and some other animals.
Members of Spathiphyllum are widespread in Central America and northern South America. Two species are found on Pacific islands: one on Cocos Island (S. laeve) and one in Indonesia and the Philippines (S. commutatum). They grow on the forest floors of tropical humid forests, in shady, moist or wet areas along rivers and streams, in river valleys and foothills. They often grow in colonies along waterways, and can be in places periodically inundated with water.
Spatheflower · Spathiphyllum cochlearispathum · Peace Lily · Peace Lily
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Spathiphyllum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
