Spider plant is an erect herbaceous herb with hairy, often purple stems and many branches that grow to a height of about one meter. The plant has edible leaves; each leaf has up to 7 leaflets which spread like fingers and are usually 2-10 cm long. The flowers are showy, long and bear many small white or pink flowers.

It is commonly known as: African cabbage or spider flower or spider wisp or cat's whiskers.
In Swahili, it is called Mwangani, thageti (Kikuyu), tsisaka (Luhya), alot-dek (Luo), saget (Kalenjin), chinsaga (Kisii), mwianzo (Kamba), jjobyu (Luganda), yobyu (Lusoga)

Origin, distribution and use

Spider plant originated in Africa and Tropical Asia but now has a worldwide distribution. The plant is either cultivated or harvested from the wild. It is a fast-growing plant that is ready for harvest in as few as three weeks.

Spider plant adds important nutrients to the diets in rural areas of East and Southern Africa, where it is commonly found, (AVRDC).
It is also believed to replenish blood (Chweya and Mnzava, 1997; Woomer and Imbumi, 2003).
The leaves, which are cooked and eaten as green vegetable, have a mildly bitter taste and contain 5% protein, 6% carbohydrates and are high in vitamins A and C, calcium, phosphorus and iron.
Fresh leaves are also used as ingredients in other mashed foods.
When dried, the leaves are ground and incorporated in weaning foods.

Interventions by FCI

Application of manure delays flowering in spider plants. This allows more, larger leaves to be harvested and therefore optimizes yields. FCI has been facilitating farmers to prepare and apply farmyard manure to the crops.

The first harvests consist of thinned plants, which are brought to the market with their roots attached; roots are removed just before selling to maintain freshness. FCI has been educating the smallholders on cheap ways to maintain harvests and avoid post harvest losses. Once of such ways is to place them in water overnight to absorb moisture.

After several successive leaf harvestings, the plants are left to flower and produce seeds. The ripe seeds are harvested and saved for the next season (AVRDC).

Pests

Aphids are the common pests for spider plants. However, pesticides are not recommended.
They can be destroyed by rubbing them off, or by gently pressing the infested stems or leaves between the fingers.   
A strong jet of water can also be applied to dislodge aphids from attacked plants.
The infested leaves can also be pruned or destroyed to reduce further infestations.