The impact of African plants in world horticulture has been tremendous, not only for warm temperate gardens but also as house plants.
Two of the most common house plants used worldwide are from South Africa: the various Pelargonium cultivars and the spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum). Pelargoniums were introduced to Europe by Francis Masson, the first horticulturist sent to the Cape in the late 1700s by the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.