Plants that grow in the dark
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Plants That Grow in the Dark — Daily trivia Friday, March 13, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01The snake plant featured in which famous study of houseplants' ability to remove indoor air toxins?
- AWHO Indoor Air Quality Report
- BEPA Sick Building Study
- CNASA Clean Air Study
- DCDC Environmental Health Survey
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NASA Clean Air Study
NASA Clean Air Study. Its sealed-chamber results don't carry over to real rooms, where matching normal air exchange would take 10 to 1,000 plants per square metre.
Q 02Which trailing houseplant is nicknamed devil's ivy because it stays green even in the dark?
- AZZ plant
- BSpider plant
- CPothos
- DRubber plant
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Pothos
Pothos. Epipremnum aureum is famously hardy, and in parts of the Indian subcontinent it is known as the money plant.
Q 03The peace lily (Spathiphyllum) naturally grows on the shaded forest floors of which regions?
- ASub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar
- BTropical Americas and Southeast Asia
- CNorthern Europe and Siberia
- DAustralia and New Zealand
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Tropical Americas and Southeast Asia
The 59 Spathiphyllum species grow on shaded rainforest floors of the tropical Americas and southeastern Asia, which is why the houseplant tolerates dim rooms and sulks in direct sun.
Q 04What is the common name of Chamaedorea elegans, the Victorian favourite that survived dark British homes?
- AParlor palm
- BKentia palm
- CAreca palm
- DSago palm
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Parlor palm
Parlor palm. Native to the rainforests of southern Mexico and Guatemala, it is still one of the world's best-selling houseplant palms.
Q 05What is the scientific term for the pale, elongated growth of plants grown in darkness?
- APhototropism
- BEtiolation
- CVernalization
- DChlorosis
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Etiolation
Etiolation. Plants grown without light develop long, weak, pale stems with few small leaves, and they green up again once light arrives.
Q 06What is the common name for the eerie green glow of bioluminescent fungi on decaying wood?
- AWitchlight
- BMoonshine
- CElfglow
- DFoxfire
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Foxfire
Foxfire. Also called fairy fire, the bluish-green glow comes from luciferin reacting with the enzyme luciferase, and Aristotle described it as a light that was cold to the touch.
Q 07Which ghostly white wildflower survives without photosynthesis by parasitizing underground fungi?
- AIndian pipe
- BGhost orchid
- CCorpse flower
- DSnow plant
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Indian pipe
Indian pipe. Also called ghost pipe, Monotropa uniflora has no chlorophyll and feeds on fungi tied to tree roots, so it can bloom on the darkest forest floor.
Q 08What is the botanical term for the way a seedling develops when it germinates in total darkness?
- APhotomorphogenesis
- BSkotomorphogenesis
- CThigmomorphogenesis
- DHeliotropism
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Skotomorphogenesis
Skotomorphogenesis, or dark development. The seedling shoots up a long pale stem with a hooked tip and no leaves, betting everything on reaching light.
Q 09Which plant hormone primarily drives the elongated stem growth seen in etiolated plants?
- ACytokinin
- BEthylene
- CAbscisic acid
- DAuxin
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Auxin
Auxin. Made at growing tips, it loosens cell walls by activating expansins so stems can stretch, and the same hormone bends plants toward light.
Q 10Which houseplant did Orwell use as a symbol of dull middle-class respectability?
- AThe aspidistra
- BThe fern
- CThe ivy
- DThe rubber tree
Show answer
The aspidistra
The aspidistra. Orwell's hero Gordon Comstock scorns it, yet ends up installing one in his flat, and its toughness earned it the name cast-iron plant.
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