Plants with long skinny leaves are ones that can complement your home decor, making your rooms more attractive. Some of these plants are edible and non-toxic to humans and pets as they help to treat different diseases.

7 Plants With Long Skinny Leaves

Plants with long skinny leaves are good for beginners because most of them are easy to care for, and there are other plants with large leaves that can brighten your home like the Ficus lyrata, and even the prayer plant of the Marantaceae family. This guide will help you learn more about various plants whose leaves are long and skinny, so read along.

A List of Plants With Long Skinny Leaves

1. Ponytail Palm

Non Toxic Ponytail Palm

Benefits 
  • Produces high amount of oxygen
  • Purifies the air by removing toxins like benzene, toluene, and xylene
  • Adds freshness to your surroundings
Uses
  • Used for landscaping in areas that experience warm, dry climatic conditions
  • Used for ornamental and recreation purposes
Distinguishing characteristics
  • Can reach a height between six and 30 feet at maturity stage, after around ten years
  • Stores water in the enlarged base of its trunk
  • Do not bloom until they reach maturity
Care 
  • Water the plant not more than once every two weeks
  • Thrives well when it gets bright, indirect sun
  • Prefers temperatures that are above 45 degrees Fahrenheit

This palm is an evergreen perennial plant that is usually grown as an outdoor ornamental plant that thrives in warmer temperatures. The plant belongs to the Asparagaceae family and is also known as the elephant’s foot. Different climates will affect the ponytail’s health.

This beauty is non-toxic to humans and pets like dogs and cats so, you are free to place it on any spot that can make your house look elegant. However, to see this plant thrive, you should make sure that you are patient because it will start to bloom when it has become mature.

In order to grow it well, you should place it in the bright yet indirect sun, and make sure that you do not water it excessively, only when the soil feels dry.

2. Yucca

Toxic Yucca

Benefits 
  • Lowers cholesterol levels, thereby improving heart health
  • Contains antioxidants and vitamin C
  • Can be used to reduce swelling and heal wounds
Uses
  • Flowers are added to stews and soups
  • Has saponins which are natural foaming agents that can be used when manufacturing shampoos, toothpaste, or soaps
Distinguishing characteristics
  • Can grow up to a height of 24 inches
  • Prefers full sunlight
  • Produces toxins that can cause intestinal irritation, diarrhea, and seizures if consumed in large quantities while fresh
Care 
  • Requires water when two inches of the top soil is dry mostly after 10 days
  • Prefers well-draining soil
  • Prune when necessary to reduce the size, as well as to remove unwanted flower spikes and damaged foliage

Yucca is a genus with 40 to 50 species that are easy to care for, but they all differ from the colors of their foliage but would thrive in common conditions, such as regular watering in summer when the soil is dry, but the soil dries slower in winter. However, the roots should not be placed in excessive water content, and make sure that you would prune the dead parts as well.

The yucca shrubs are becoming increasingly preferred by many gardeners for use as outdoor and indoor plants. The mature yucca plant sheds its lower leaves and scary marks are left, making it look similar to the Chinese evergreen plant with a short trunk.

3. Spider Plant

White Small Blooms Spider Plant

Benefits 
  • Have calming properties, thereby helping you to relieve anxiety and improve your mood
  • Removes formaldehyde found in most household products made of wood, leather, and plastic
  • It increases indoor oxygen levels
Uses
  • Used to deal with airborne diseases like sore throat, cough, flu, and cold through the increased humidity
  • Cleanses the indoor enviornment
Distinguishing characteristics
  • Easy to propagate using offsets
  • Has a high transpiration rate
  • Produces white, small blooms
Care 
  • Grows vigorously if kept moist by watering it daily in spring through summer but do not overwater it
  • A mixture of one-quarter part vermiculite, one part pumice, and two parts peat moss is ideal
  • Repot it when it’s root-bound for a healthy growth

The spider plant is the type of plant that gets its name from the narrow, long leaves that bend outward from the central growing point, just like the arthropods. This plant is also known as the Chlorophytum comosum, and it is a famous indoor plant that requires indirect sun and brings benefits such as cleansing the environment.

The plant’s best look is achieved if placed on a table or in hanging baskets where you would water it once the soil feels dry. This indoor plant, together with the snake plant and Ficus elastica, produces lots of oxygen that can help to lessen the burden of having to deal with airborne allergens.

It would grow well when you place peat moss on the top of the soil and the moisture would be trapped; also, when the roots grow, you must remember to repot it.

4. Dragon Tree

Blue Green Leaves Dragon Tree

Benefits 
  • Can prevent air pollution
  • Can be used to reduce lead poisoning
Uses
  • Used for decorating purposes
  • Produces a gum resin that is gargled as an astringent and as a stimulant
Distinguishing characteristics
  • It is a slow grower
  • Has sword-shaped, blue-green leaves
  • Produces greenish-white blooms
Care 
  • Prefers under watering so allow the topsoil to dry before watering again
  • Grows well in temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Protect it from cold drafts

The dragon tree is also known as the Dracaena marginata. This tree plant has spiky green leaves. The variegated red edges of this plant are the ones that make it more appealing.

The reason why you should keep this plant indoors is because of so many benefits that it has, but also due to how it would grow best when receiving indirect light. At the same time, it is known to cleanse the indoor environment and would add such a beautiful and tropical feature indoors especially when the flowers are blooming.

The leaves of this plant are known to be thin and skinny, and their foliage is rich in green color. The plant will thrive when it is in warmer regions, and as a result, you should aim to protect the plant from cold drafts.

5. Banana-Leaf Fig

Single Trunk Banana Leaf Fig

Benefits 
  • Has polyphenols that can fight cancer cells
  • Purifies the blood
  • Used to cure bladder and kidney problems
Uses
  • Leaves are used as raw material for the production of body lotions and creams as they have antioxidants and antibacterial properties
  • Leaves are also used to make juice
  • The juice can reduce cough issues
Distinguishing characteristics
  • Has long, saber-shaped foliage
  • Has a single trunk with many branches
Care 
  • Requires a temperature range of 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Prefers bright, indirect sunlight
  • Look out for pests like mealybugs and spider mites

Note that this banana tree grows into a small tree like the weeping fig. This leaf plant is commonly known as Ficus maclellandii, and it is known to grow between six and 10 feet long with the right requirements.

This is the type of tree that has leaves that are thin, and they grow as long as they are placed in indirect light that is also bright, and make sure that the environment is warm enough. On another note, these leaves have medical properties that would heal different health problems such as coughing issues.

6. Parlor Palm

Large Foliage Parlor Palm

Benefits 
  • Used to improve mental health
  • Fronds can be used for decorations and wreaths as they can stay fresh for almost 40 days after being cut from their mother plant
  • Gives a natural aura
Uses
  • Helps to improve focus mentally
  • Used to reduce stress
  • Used to purify indoor air
Distinguishing characteristics
  • A slow-growing plant that takes many years to reach a height of two to six feet
  • Does not produce flowers
  • Spread quite wide with its feathered, large foliage
Care 
  • Prefers bright, dappled light
  • Thrives well in acidic to neutral soil pH
  • Well-draining potting mix with peat moss is ideal

The parlor palm is also known as the bamboo palm or Chamaedorea elegans. This palm has dark green leaves and is usually grown as an indoor plant. Also make sure that this plant is placed in soil that has an acidic and neutral soil pH, with well-draining properties as well.

The interesting aspect about this houseplant is that in Feng Shui, it is used to bring cleaning to the environment. Many common palm tree varieties include the majesty palm, cat palm, and fan palm.

7. Aloe Vera

Succulent Leaves Aloe Vera

Benefits 
  • Speeds up the wound-healing process
  • Can treat canker sores
  • Helps to improve digestion, thereby reducing constipation
Uses
  • Used as a skin product because it has anti-aging properties
  • Used as an ingredient in capsules, concentrates, and drinks
  • Used as a laxative as it contains aloin
Distinguishing characteristics
  • Has succulent leaves that are stemless
  • Produces offsets and flowers
  • Has a toxic sap that poison cats
Care 
  • Make sure you water it every two to three weeks
  • Appreciates six hours of exposure to direct sunlight per day
  • Water it when the soil feels dry

This plant is native to Africa like the corn plant and is usually grown for its health benefits. The plant’s gel contains 99 percent water, which is why it is drought-tolerant.

This is the type of plant that would thrive when you place it in the indirect sun, and also try to water it when the soil feels dry. However, you should remember to water it in winter every two to three weeks, so it dries. If you have any pets, just make sure you place it on a higher shelf, because aloe vera would intoxicate your pets if ingested.

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