TOYOTA DEVELOPS ECO-FRIENDLY SHRUB

Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's largest car manufacturer, has developed a new type of cherry sage shrub that can absorb airborne pollutants much more effectively than existing varieties. The automaker plans to commence sales of the eco-friendly plant in March 2006 through Toyota Roof Garden Co., a subsidiary based in Aichi Prefecture, at a retail price of ¥380 ($3.30 at ¥115 to the dollar) a pot.

Smog Eater
Cherry sage (Salviamicrophylla) is a semi-evergreen shrub with a relatively long flowering period lasting from early summer until the end of autumn. It has an outstanding ability to clean the air and reduce the "heat island" effect - a phenomenon in which the abundance of concrete and lack of greenery in cities results in higher temperatures, increased use of air conditioning, and further pollution. These qualities brought it to the attention of Toyota Motor and led the company to start working on a new variety.

The fruit of the automaker's efforts was a new variety of the plant, which Toyota named Kirsch Pink. According to Toyota Motor, Kirsch Pink is 1.3 times more efficient at absorbing pollutants nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide and reducing the heat island effect than existing varieties. It is 1.2 times better at doing these things than even the fast-growing Kirsch Red, a cherry sage already being sold by Toyota Roof Garden. Toyota Motor asserts that planting Kirsch Pink on the sides of roads and in city parks would improve air quality.

The company plans to market two other plants at the same time as Kirsch Pink. The first is a low-growing Roman chamomile, and the second is an ornamental lavender, both of which can withstand hot summer weather. Greenery that thrives in the heat of summer could play a key role in combating the heat island effect.


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