Editing Aspidistra (section)

==In popular culture==

As a popular foliage houseplant, ''A.&nbsp;elatior'' became popular in late [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and was so common that it became a "symbol of dull middle-class respectability".<ref name="oed"/>  As such, it was central to [[George Orwell]]'s novel ''[[Keep the Aspidistra Flying]]'', as a symbol of the need of the middle class to maintain respectability according to Gordon Comstock, the novel's protagonist. It was further immortalised in the 1938 song "[[The Biggest Aspidistra in the World]]", which, as sung by [[Gracie Fields]], became a popular wartime classic.<ref>[http://www.google.ca/search?q=gracie+fields+aspidistra "The Biggest Aspidistra in the World"]</ref> An aspidistra is mentioned in the [[Wallace and Gromit]] short, "The Autochef", from the ''[[Cracking Contraptions]]'' series. In two [[Dorothy L. Sayers]] books from the mid-1930s, ''[[Busman's Honeymoon]]'' and ''[[The Nine Tailors]]'', characters make disparaging remarks about aspidistras.

Aspidistras can withstand deep shade, neglect, dry soil, hot temperatures and polluted indoor air (from burning coal or [[natural gas]]) but are sensitive to bright sunlight.<ref>{{citation | url=http://www.houseplantsguru.com/aspidistra-elatior-cast-iron-plant | title=''Aspidistra elatior'' – Cast Iron Plant | publisher=House Plants Guru | year=2010 | accessdate=16 February 2013 }}</ref>

"Aspidistra" was the codename (inspired by the above song) of a [[Aspidistra (transmitter)|very powerful British radio transmitter]] used for propaganda and deception purposes against Nazi Germany during World War II.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Porter |first1=Dave |last2=Matheson |first2=Andy |year=2009 |title=Tricks of the Trade: Aspidistra and OSE5 |url=http://www.bbceng.info/Technical%20Reviews/aspidistra-and-ose5.pdf |journal=Signal |issue=12 |pages=15–17 |accessdate=15 July 2013 |name-list-style=amp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406142816/http://www.bbceng.info/Technical%20Reviews/aspidistra-and-ose5.pdf |archive-date=6 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The 1980s British television show ''[[The Adventure Game]]'' featured a moving aspidistra called the Rangdo of Arg, operated by [[Kenny Baker (English actor)|Kenny Baker]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/adventuregame/trivia.shtml|title=The Adventure Game|website=BBC Cult|accessdate=2 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://metro.co.uk/2016/10/21/forget-the-crystal-maze-bbc-cult-classic-the-adventure-game-is-back-6202612/|title=Forget the Crystal Maze, BBC cult classic The Adventure Game is back|work=Metro|date=21 October 2016|accessdate=6 January 2020}}</ref>