Chlorophytum Comosum Research Articles

Fundamentals of Ornamental Plants in Removing Benzene in Indoor Air

The concentration of benzene in indoor air has received appreciable attention due to its adverse health effects. Although phytoremediation has been considered as an eco-friendly method to remove benzene, it is unclear how to select plants with a high removal rate. In this study, we evaluated the benzene removal efficiency of four common ornamental plants, Epipremnum aureum, Chlorophytum comosum, Hedera helix and Echinopsis tubiflora, and we also explored the factors impacting benzene removal efficiency. The removal efficiency of all plants in this study averaged at 72 percent. The benzene absorption rates of Epipremnum aureum, Hedera helix and Chlorophytum comosum were 1.10, 0.85 and 0.27 µg·m−3·cm−2, respectively. This is due to the different transpiration rates and chlorophyll concentrations in the plants. The benzene removal efficiency of crassulacean acid metabolism plant (Echinopsis tubiflora) was 23% higher than C3 plant (Epipremnum aureum) under dark conditions. This can be attributed to the fact that the characteristic of Echinopsis tubiflora stomata is different from Epipremnum aureum stomata, which is still open under dark conditions. Therefore, Echinopsis tubiflora can take up more benzene than Epipremnum aureum. For different initial benzene concentrations, the benzene removal efficiency of Echinopsis tubiflora was always great (50–80%), owing to its high rate of transpiration and concentration of chlorophyll. Our findings indicate that transpiration rate and chlorophyll concentration can be used as reference parameters to facilitate ornamental plant screening for indoor air quality improvement.

Pollen Morphology of Angiosperms of Central Nepal

Morphological structures of pollen-grains of fifteen species of angiosperms collected from Central Nepal were cytologically carried out. Pollen structure of fifteen species viz. Antirrhium majus from family Plantaginaceae, Brunfelsia pauciflora and Petunia hybrida from Solanaceae, Centurea cyanus and Chrysanthemum morifolium from Asteraceae, Malvaviscous arboreus from Malvaceae, Lantana camera from Verbenaceae, Chlorophytum comosum from Asperagaceae, Oxalis europia from Oxilidaceae, Jasminum officinale from Oleaceae, Geranium roseous from Geranaceae, Mirabilis jalapa from Nyctaginaceae, Phlox paniculata from Polymoniaceae and Tradescantia brivifolia from commelinaceae studied in this investigation. Most of the structure of pollen found to be spheroidal, some irregular, oval, elongated and circular. The present study gives an account of variations of pollen grain structure within the angiosperms family. Triporate to polyprate aperture and echinate to smooth walled exine were observed in present study. Pollen morphology of the angiosperm is significantly helpful at the generic and specific level in plant taxonomy.
 Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 7(1): 102-107

Noninvasive Measurement of Bioelectric Potentials of Plants

A system for the noninvasive measurement of bioelectric potentials in the soil–plant system, which is based on a new—and harmless to plants—method ensuring the surface contact of the root system with electrodes, is developed and tested with the use of the Chlorophytum comosum perennial grassy plant. It is shown that the irrigation of the plant from the top after exposure to water-scarce conditions causes a jump in the bioelectric potential at the level of 200–250 mV for about 300 s with subsequent reaching of a plateau corresponding to the physiological state of the plant. At the same time, the diffusion of water from below leads to a smooth change in the bioelectric potential upon reaching the same level. It is shown that invasive insertion of an electrode leads to nonmonotonic and descending time dependences of the bioelectric potential, which are probably a response of the living system to damage.

Exogenous 24-epibrassinolide enhanced benzene detoxification in Chlorophytum comosum via overexpression and conjugation by glutathione

Benzene, a hydrophobic xenobiotic, induces cell damage in both humans and plants. Due to its volatilization, benzene is an airborne environmental problem. The potential of an exogenous bioactive brassinosteroid phytohormone to enhance benzene removal for phytoremediation was investigated. Chlorophytum comosum had higher brassinosteroids content under benzene stress. Plant treated with 24-epibrassinolide (EBR) removed significantly more gaseous benzene than untreated plants under both light and dark conditions at an initial benzene of 12.75 μmol in the systematic chambers (P < 0.05). Although benzene increased malondialdehyde in plant tissue, EBR-treated plants lowered this lipid peroxidation by enhancing their antioxidant content and increasing benzene detoxification-related genes expression, including ascorbic acid (AsA), homogentisate phytyltransferase (HPT), and glutathione synthethase (GS). This contributed to maintaining higher photosynthetic performances. Moreover, EBR-treated plants had higher gene expression of ferredoxin–NADP reductase (FNR) and glucose-6-phosphate 1-dehydrogenase (G6PDH), thus promoting NADPH biosynthesis to cope with benzene under light and dark conditions, respectively. Further, higher glutathione biosynthesis promoted more glutathione conjugate of benzene products including S-phenylcysteine (SPC) in EBR-treated plants. Hence, application of exogenous EBR as foliar spray provided for enhanced benzene detoxification via antioxidant content, benzene detoxification-related genes and benzene conjugation products with glutathione (GSH) and consequently greater gaseous benzene removal.

Purification of Eutrophic Water by Five Aqua-Cultured Plants in Lake Hongfeng, Guiyang, China

The purification efficiency of eutrophic water by five aqua-cultured plants (Chlorophytum comosum, Salix babylonica, Dracaena sanderiana, Myriophyllum verticillatum, Alternanthera philoxeroides) in Lake Hongfeng, China, was investigated. The results indicated that the biomass of Myriophyllum verticillatum and Alternanthera philoxeroides reached the highest level in 87 days after transplant. The removal efficiencies of total nitrate (TN), total phosphorus (TP), chemical oxygen demand (CODCr), and chlorophyll (Chl-a) by the plants ranged from 44% to 96%. The Secchi depth (SD) increased from 0.08-0.1 m to 1.3-3.2 m for the experiments with five cultivars of aqua-cultured plants. Purification efficiency of eutrophic water correlated significantly, in a positive way, with biomass amount and plant productivity. The Carlson’s trophic state indexes decreased from 76 to 21 when the cultivar was Myriophyllum verticillatum, suggesting that Myriophyllum verticillatum can be selected as the plant to remediate karst drainage areas of Guizhou Plateau, where the water body underwent eutrophication. The research results provided a good case for lake environmental management and recovery in karst areas of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, China.

Removal of Trimethylamine from Indoor Air Using Potted Plants under Light and Dark Conditions

ABSTRACT A phytoremediation was evaluated as a solution for mitigating the fishy odor, or trimethylamine (TMA), that occurs in the seafood industry, including fresh markets. A synthetic TMA chemical was used to generate the fishy odor, and eight types of potted plants—Prickly pear cactus, Dracaena sanderiana Sander, Dieffenbachia camilla, Tradescantia spathacea, Peperomia magnoliifolia, Chlorophytum comosum, Cereus hexagonus (L.) Mill., and Scindapsus aureus—were selected as candidates for removing TMA in light and dark conditions. The results showed that S. aureus had the highest TMA removal efficiency in light conditions after 72 h (> 95%). However, it had very low efficiency under dark conditions, suggesting that S. aureus should be placed in locations with all-day light sources. On the other hand, cactus types (C. hexagonus (L.) Mill. and Prickly pear cactus) are highly efficient at removing TMA in both light and dark conditions after 72 h (> 90%) and may therefore be more suitable for real-world environments containing both light and dark conditions.

Неинвазивное измерение биоэлектрических потенциалов растений

AbstractA system for the noninvasive measurement of bioelectric potentials in the soil–plant system, which is based on a new—and harmless to plants—method ensuring the surface contact of the root system with electrodes, is developed and tested with the use of the Chlorophytum comosum perennial grassy plant. It is shown that the irrigation of the plant from the top after exposure to water-scarce conditions causes a jump in the bioelectric potential at the level of 200–250 mV for about 300 s with subsequent reaching of a plateau corresponding to the physiological state of the plant. At the same time, the diffusion of water from below leads to a smooth change in the bioelectric potential upon reaching the same level. It is shown that invasive insertion of an electrode leads to nonmonotonic and descending time dependences of the bioelectric potential, which are probably a response of the living system to damage.

Enriching Beneficial Microbial Diversity of Indoor Plants and Their Surrounding Built Environment With Biostimulants.

Microbial diversity is suggested as the key for plant and human health. However, how microbial diversity can be enriched is largely unknown but of great interest for health issues. Biostimulants offer the way to directly augment our main living areas by the healthy microbiome of indoor plants. Here, we investigated shifts of the microbiome on leaves of spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) and its surrounding abiotic surfaces in the built environment after irrigation with a vermicompost-based biostimulant for 12 weeks. The biostimulant could not only promote plant growth, but changed the composition of the microbiome and abundance of intact microbial cells on plant leaves and even stronger on abiotic surfaces in close vicinity under constant conditions of the microclimate. Biostimulant treatments stabilized microbial diversity and resulted in an increase of Bacteroidetes and a surprising transient emerge of new phyla, e.g., Verrucomicrobia, Acidobacteria, and Thaumarchaeota. The proportion of potentially beneficial microorganisms like Brevibacillus, Actinoallomurus, Paenibacillus, Sphaerisporangium increased relatively; microbial diversity was stabilized, and the built environment became more plant-like. Detected metabolites like indole-3-acetic acid in the biostimulant were potentially contributed by species of Pseudomonas. Overall, effects of the biostimulant on the composition of the microbiome could be predicted with an accuracy of 87%. This study shows the potential of biostimulants not only for the plant itself, but also for other living holobionts like humans in the surrounding environment.

Telhados verdes como alternativa para construções sustentáveis

O telhado verde tem sido considerado como alternativa para mitigar alguns problemas ambientais presentes nos centros urbanos, como enchentes, poluição do ar e sonora, e ilhas de calor. Além disso, pode atuar como isolante térmico em edifícios proporcionando conforto térmico e economia de energia. Entretanto, uma das desvantagens é o seu elevado custo de implantação. Este trabalho apresenta uma pesquisa experimental realizada em Limeira, São Paulo, com o objetivo de avaliar dois aspectos de telhados verdes: seu custo de implantação e seu desempenho como isolante térmico na região de estudo. Para a composição de preços, foram considerados os principais sistemas construtivos de telhado verde, orçados por m-² em empresas especializadas e como materiais unitários no comércio local, obtendo-se variações de valor de até 835%. Para a análise de desempenho térmico, foram construídos três módulos experimentais (M), sendo o M1 apenas com laje de concreto impermeabilizada (telhado de controle), e os outros dois com sistemas de telhado verde extensivo: o M2 utilizando Chlorophytum comosum e o M3 com Hemigrafis alternata. O controle de temperatura e umidade interior e exterior nos módulos foi realizado com termohigrômetros (Testo 174 h data logger) a partir de medições a cada 10 minutos durante 40 dias. Com esta análise pode-se atestar o melhor desempenho térmico das coberturas vegetadas (M2 e M3), que apresentaram temperaturas máximas até 3,4°C inferiores àquelas do M1 (controle). Conclui-se que, apesar do custo de implantação ainda ser elevado, o telhado verde, é viável, pois possui benefícios ambientais e de conforto térmico e pode levar à diminuição do consumo de energia elétrica.

Accumulation of cadmium in potential hyperaccumulators Chlorophytum comosum and Callisia fragrans and role of organic acids under stress conditions.

Cadmium (Cd) accumulation, antioxidant activity (AOA), chlorophyll fluorescence (F) and organic acid distribution in Chlorophytum comosum and Callisia fragrans plants exposed to artificially added Cd (40, 160 and 320mgkg-1) were examined in pot experiment. At the highest Cd concentration, C. comosum accumulated in roots and the aboveground parts up to 1331 and 1054mg Cdkg-1 DW, and C. fragrans up to 1427 and 1263mg Cdkg-1 DW, respectively, which are quite near at the level of hyperaccumulator. Cd accumulation in both plant species increased significantly with the increment of soil Cd dosage, and the distribution was roots > shoots > stolons. Values of BC showed rising trend indicating an accumulation potential of both species. The root AOA was positively correlated to Cd addition, especially in C. comosum. Higher values of free SA were found in roots with a significant enhancement at concentrations of 40 and 160mgkg-1 Cd. It was observed that citric acid significantly reacted in both species, while fumaric acid only in C. comosum in response to Cd which may contribute to Cd chelation. Our data indicate that both species are suitable for phytoextraction of Cd from contaminated soils which increases their value as ornamentals.

Chlorophytum comosum–bacteria interactions for airborne benzene remediation: Effect of native endophytic Enterobacter sp. EN2 inoculation and blue-red LED light

This study was performed to determine the effect of plant–endophytic Enterobacter sp. EN2 interactions and blue-red LED light conditions on gaseous benzene removal by plants. It was found that under consecutive benzene fumigation for three cycles (18 days), inoculation of the strain EN2 into sterilized and non-sterilized native C. comosum resulted in significantly increased gaseous benzene removal compared to that in non-inoculated groups under the same light conditions (P < 0.05). Remarkably, EN2 colonization in inoculated plants under LED conditions was higher than under fluorescence conditions as the EN2 could grow better under LED conditions. Strain EN2 possesses NADPH that is used to facilitate benzene degradation and modulate plant growth under benzene stress by bacterial IAA production and ACC deaminase activity; higher IAA and lower ethylene levels were found in inoculated plants compared to non-inoculated ones. These contributed to better benzene removal efficiency. Interestingly, under fumigation for 16 cycles (67 days), there was no difference in gaseous benzene removal between inoculated plants and non-inoculated plants under the same light conditions at initial benzene concentrations of 5 ppm. This is probably due to EN2 reaching maximum growth under all treatments. However, C. comosum exhibited better benzene removal under LED conditions than under fluorescence conditions during 16 cycles, possibly due to better photosynthetic performance and plant growth, leading to more NADPH, and eventually enhanced benzene removal efficiency. Hence, the most efficient acceleration of benzene removal was provided by inoculation of strain EN2 onto C. comosum under blue-red LED light conditions.

Standardization of plant species and growing medium for vertical garden system: A new urban horticulture concept

Vertical gardens are becoming a common component in contemporary garden designs at urban living space because of shrinking land spaces. Successful growing of plants in vertical garden systems depends up on growing container, plants chosen, growing media, etc. Hence a study was carried out in the Department of Horticulture, Annamalai University, during the year 2013, with the objectives to study the influence of Coir pith, Stockosorb and Geohumus as components of growing media along with FYM, Vermicompost and Leaf mould compost on growth and performance of ornamental plants for establishment of vertical garden and to study the performance of ornamental plants Viz., Philodendron erubescens Cv. ‘Gold’, Chlorophytum comosum Cv. ‘Variegatum’ and Polyscias fruticosa plants in wooden containers for establishment of vertical garden. The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design in wooden containers, with ten treatment combinations of various growing media mixtures comprising red soil, river sand as basic components in combination with organic manures (FYM, vermicompost, leaf mould compost, coir pith) and hydrogels (Stocksorb and Geohumus). The plant growth characters and ornamental value index were observed. Among the three ornamental plants used, Polyscias fruticosa and Philodendron erubescens are performed better as ornamental plants in vertical garden system with the growing media of Red soil : River sand : Vermicompost @ 1:1:1/2 + Stockosorb(25g).

Standardization of plant species and growing medium for vertical garden system: A new urban horticulture concept

Vertical gardens are becoming a common component in contemporary garden designs at urban living space because of shrinking land spaces. Successful growing of plants in vertical garden systems depends up on growing container, plants chosen, growing media, etc. Hence a study was carried out in the Department of Horticulture, Annamalai University, during the year 2013, with the objectives to study the influence of Coir pith, Stockosorb and Geohumus as components of growing media along with FYM, Vermicompost and Leaf mould compost on growth and performance of ornamental plants for establishment of vertical garden and to study the performance of ornamental plants Viz., Philodendron erubescens Cv. ‘Gold’, Chlorophytum comosum Cv. ‘Variegatum’ and Polyscias fruticosa plants in wooden containers for establishment of vertical garden. The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design in wooden containers, with ten treatment combinations of various growing media mixtures comprising red soil, river sand as basic components in combination with organic manures (FYM, vermicompost, leaf mould compost, coir pith) and hydrogels (Stocksorb and Geohumus). The plant growth characters and ornamental value index were observed. Among the three ornamental plants used, Polyscias fruticosa and Philodendron erubescens are performed better as ornamental plants in vertical garden system with the growing media of Red soil : River sand : Vermicompost @ 1:1:1/2 + Stockosorb(25g).

Morphological Changes of Mexican Native Succulent Plants in a Vertical Greenery System Compared with Pot Conditions

Adaptation parameters as leaf width, leaf length, mesophyll thickness, number of adaxial and abaxial stomata, and biomass were measured in eight stonecrop species (Crassulaceaae), spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum), and maria’s heart (Peperomia tepoztecoana) in vertical greenery system (VGS) and containers (POT). Statistical significance among parameters was probed by t test and principal component analysis was performed to detect global morphological changes. Mexican gem (Echeveria elegans), graptosedum (× Graptosedum ‘Vera Higgins’), lavender scallops (Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi), coppertone sedum (Sedum nussbaumerianum), ghost plant (Graptopetalum paraguayense), and jelly-beans (Sedum rubrotinctum) were the species that did not change significantly their morphological traits during growth in the VGS. This provides evidence of the potential for these species to be used in green walls or any VGS while maintaining their characteristic shape and beauty. Graptopetalum (Graptopetalum macdougalli), gray sedum (Sedum griseum), maria’s heart, and spider plant showed changes in its morphology during growth in the VGS when compared with growth in POT, indicating a lower potential for adaption to VGS.

Screening Foliage Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement

Indoor air pollution is a major environmental health problem affecting people in both developed and developing countries. The use of houseplants is one of the emerging methods for abatement of indoor air pollution. Plants can remove indoor air pollutants by stomatal uptake, absorption and adsorption to plant surfaces. Indoor air characteristically contains a large consortium of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as formaldehyde, benzene and toluene. The volatile tested in this study toluene, is commonly found in buildings. The main objective of this project was to find the removal efficiency of toluene by four plant species, Aglaonema spp., Dracaena deremensis, Hedera helix and Chlorophytum comosum. This main goal was achieved by constructing a sealed closed chamber resembling the indoor environment in order to find the activity of selected indoor plants to the indoor air pollutant toluene. The concentration of introduced toluene was measured through gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The possible causes for the differences in removal of toluene among selected plant species were determined by studying leaf morphology, stomatal numbers, plant physiology and growth related parameters. The removal efficiency, expressed on percentage level using toluene peak areas of the GCMS analyses varied among plant species. H. helix had the highest toluene removal percentage per plant over 24 hours (91.1%) followed by D. deremensis (75.0%), A. spp. (60.5%) and C. comosum (47.9%). The study found that stomatal index and stomatal pore length play a key role in VOC removal and that there was a positive relationship between stomatal conductance with toluene removal potential. Based on the results it can be further concluded that thickness of the cuticle is a hindrance to VOC penetration. In addition VOC removal is higher in plants having high photosynthetic rates and there was no relationship of leaf area with the VOC removal capacity. Further studies focusing on screening additional plant species for superior VOC removal efficiencies are warranted. Keywords: Indoor air pollution, Volatile organic compounds, Gas-chromatography Mass spectrometry, Stomatal conductance

Botanical biofilter for indoor toluene removal and reduction of carbon dioxide emission under low light intensity by using mixed C3 and CAM plants

Abstract Botanical biofilters are an interesting technology for indoor air pollution control. However, when growing plants under indoor air conditions with low light intensity (10–50 μmole PAR m−2 s−1), they seem to emit CO2 to the environment. In order to solve this problem, a combination of C3 and CAM plants might be able to decrease the level of CO2 emission and increase pollutant-removal efficiency. Therefore, an effective botanical biofilter with mixed plants was studied. The CO2 emissions from high benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) removal plants including Zamioculcas zamiifolia (facultative CAM), Dracaena sanderiana (C3), Chlorophytum comosum (C3), Euphorbia milii (CAM cycling), Sansevieria kirkii (CAM), and Sansevieria trifasciata (CAM) were investigated. C. comosum and S. trifasciata emitted very low CO2 under both light (50 μmole PAR m−2 s−1) and dark conditions. These two plant species (total leaf area of 500 cm2) were used in the botanical biofilter. The results showed that the botanical biofilter with a mixture of C. comosum and S. trifasciata plants could rapidly remove 1 m3 of 1 ± 0.2 ppm (3.9–4.7 mg m−3) toluene-contaminated air within only 2–3 h. In addition, the mixed plant system also showed low CO2 emission under both light and dark conditions. The combination of C3 and CAM plants offers an alternative method to limit CO2 emissions from a botanical biofilter under low light-intensity conditions.

Self-Enhancement Effect and Mechanism of Potted Chlorophytum comosum on Formaldehyde Removal from Air

Self-enhancement effect of potted Chlorophytum comosum on formaldehyde removal from air and its mechanism were investigated by measuring the formaldehyde removal rate and its oxidative potential in leaf extracts with an increase in shoot exposure time. Results showed that the main mechanism of formaldehyde removal by potted C. comosum was the accumulation by plant tissues and the breakdown therein. With a 74-h shoot exposure, 68 and 94% of formaldehyde loss in air were dissipated by plant tissues when the initial level in air was about 1.22 and 2.64 mg m−3. Leaf extracts of C. comosum could effectively dissipate (added) formaldehyde, and the dissipative capability increased with the time of shoot exposure to formaldehyde in air, which corresponded to an increase in oxidative potential of the leaf extracts. By comparing the dissipation capabilities of fresh-leaf and boiled-leaf extracts to added formaldehyde, the redox reaction between oxidative matters in plants and reductive formaldehyde might be the main mechanism on the formaldehyde breakdown in plants. With increasing initial formaldehyde concentration in extracts, the contribution of enzymatic reactions (such as dehydrogenase) to dissipate added formaldehyde decreased sharply, corresponding to an increase in the redox reaction. A burst in ROS (reactive oxygen species) induced by formaldehyde exposure could enhance the capability of C. comosum to remove formaldehyde from air, suggesting that a further increase in formaldehyde removal by plants could be accomplished by increasing the oxidative potential in plant leaves.

Vinasse irrigation: effects on soil fertility and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi population

The aim of this research was to determine the vinasse irrigation effects on the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) population (total spore abundance (TSA), richness, relative abundance, and diversity indices) and soil parameters and nutrients at high doses. The irrigation of soil with vinasses derived from sugarcane, beet, or alcohol production is a common practice around the world. Little is known about how this affects the AMF community and soil nutrients. The spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum, (Thunb.) Jacques), a mycorrhizable plant, was used to investigate the effect of 4 months of frequent vinasse irrigation (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% vinasse concentration) on AMF and soil characteristics, e.g., electrical conductivity (EC), pH, mineral N, available P, Na+, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+. The vinasse irrigation decreased the TSA, AMF richness and diversity after 4 months, regardless of vinasse concentration. The vinasse irrigation did not acidify the soil, but the EC, mineral N and available P increased. The biomass of C. comosum decreased (77–81%) after vinasse irrigation for 4 months. Frequent irrigation with vinasse at concentrations ≥50% increases EC, K+, Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and available P in the soil, and decreases the amount of AMF spores, richness and diversity, which is not desirable in agricultural soils.

Effects of growth agents and mercury on several herbs.

The paper discussed the effects of growth agents and mercury on the growth of four herb species subjected to a pot experiment: Aloe vera, Setcreasea purpurea, Chlorophytum comosum, and Oxalis corniculata. We determined the height and biomass production of selected plants treated with different growth agents and different concentrations of mercury solutions. We evaluated the relative growth rate (RGR) of the experimental plants. The aim of the study was to explore potential novel solutions to the shortcoming of the low speed of phytoremediation. The results showed that the upper parts of Aloe vera and Chlorophytum comosum had the fastest growth in the treatment with water only. In contrast, the upper parts of Setcreasea purpurea grew most intensely after the treatment with Lvyebao Fertilizer, whereas the aboveground parts of Oxalis corniculata had the fastest growth after the application of water and the occasional use of Green Cake Fertilizer. In addition, the tolerance to mercury of Oxalis corniculata was the strongest, whereas that of Chlorophytum comosum was the lowest among the species investigated.

Bioelectricity generation from three ornamental plants: Chlorophytum comosum, Chasmanthe floribunda and Papyrus diffusus

ABSTRACTIn the present study, bioelectricity generation using a living plant in soil was achieved by converting solar energy into electricity on the principles of plant photosynthesis. The plants Chlorophytum comosum, Chasmanthe floribunda and Papyrus diffuses were used in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and produced, respectively, a maximum current of 25, 31 and 19 mA/m2, without the use of any nutrient or membrane. In this study, the importance of light was demonstrated by the high current values generated during daytime, and the microorganisms at the anode-rhizosphere interface were examined.