It is native to tropical and Southern Africa but has become naturalized in other parts of the world, including Western Australia and Bangladesh.

[5][6] Chlorophytum comosum is easy to grow as a houseplant because of its resilience, but it can be sensitive to the fluoride in tap water, which commonly gives it "burnt tips".

[7] Flowers are produced in a long, branched inflorescence, which can reach a length of up to 75 cm (30 in) and eventually bends downward to meet the earth.

The stamens consist of a pollen-producing anther about 3.5 mm (0.1 in) long with a filament of similar length or slightly longer.

[7] The inflorescences carry not only flowers but also vegetative plantlets at the tips of their branches, which eventually droop and touch the soil, developing adventitious roots.

[9][10] The species was subsequently moved to a number of different genera, including Phalangium, Caesia, Hartwegia Nees, and Hollia, before receiving its current placement in Chlorophytum by Jacques in 1862.

bipindense, possess petioles and have broader leaves necessary for collecting more light in the shady Guineo-Congolean rainforest.

A study published in 2005 used 16 morphological characters and was unable to delimit species boundaries among these three taxa, so they were relegated to varietal status.

[11] A follow-up study published in 2008 provided preliminary evidence from phylogenetic analysis of plastid and nuclear DNA sequences that established samples from disparate collections sites identified as C. comosum were polyphyletic.

[24] [25] The tuberous roots are reportedly edible (whether raw or cooked unstated) although mild laxative effects are claimed by the Nguni people of its native South Africa.