Peace Lily. This is a nice medium light plant that you can find in a wide range of sizes. They pout when they need watering but they bounce back really nicely.

Jade is a nice plant too. Can stand a few missed watering and an easy propigating plant. I hear there is a varigated Jade? I wonder what the light requirements are...

Definitely Aglaonemas, which are tough as nails. They survive all types of neglect and tolerate a wide variety of conditions. And some of the Dracaenas are also great choices for beginners and businesses alike.

I would recommend a spider plant. It was one of my first ever plants, and they are very tolerant of just about anything.

I also agree about the pothos.

~Maureen

I'm going to say that everyone should have some sort of indoor tree also, but what type I'm not sure. Perhaps a Parlor Palm or some sort of Ficus. Any ideas? Any low light trees? A Dracaena perhaps?

Does a yucca count as a tree? I have one with a trunk that I really like.

A Dracaena that handles low light quite well, grows very tall and can add that 'tree-like' look is the Janet Craig.

I think the easiest "tree" type to grow inside is commonly called corn plant. I don't know the botanical name though, can anyone help me out? It has a nice woody trunk and a rosette of corn-like strappy leaves at the top that gets ever taller. They take low light and are happy if you remember to water them on major holidays.

ZZ Plant is a must have. It's recently becoming easy to find. Very easy, fast grower in medium light. Might be in the cycad family(?)

Of course you have to have an old-fashioned vining philodendrun! Doesn't everyone? They will practically grow in a closet, and indefinately in a vase of water.

Who couldn't love an African Violet? Especially the newer hybrids with pink and cream variegation in the foliage and fantasy spots on the blooms. They are practically American traditions!

I have to be careful and stop myself here. To me every single plant I see is a "REQUIRED PLANT"!!!

SPIRITCIPHER.... I just got a variegated Jade a few weeks ago. Haven't had it long enough to know if it's going to need anything different from my green Jade. So far it's just healthy and easy with awesome variegation. It's a beauty.

Mkikir.... I completely agree on the pothos. I have a Marble Queen (think that's the variety). I've had it for almost 20 years, although I may have restarted it from cuttings at some point and it's been moved around the country with me. It's a good option for people like me who are awestruck with variegated foliage.

Tropic Snow Dieffenbachia. They're easy to take care of, grow steadily and they're beautiful. They're not at all like some of the fussier diefs. I would say that they're almost as easy as pothos plants. Another great thing is that they're really nice sized plants, so they stand out.

If you're a beginner looking for a Dieffenbachia, I agree -- Tropic Snow, or a similar, big-sized plant, is going to be the way to go. The larger Spathiphyllums (peace lilies) also strike me as being easier to handle than the smaller ones.

I also want to second Crassula portulacea (jade plant), Dracaena fragrans (corn plant), Epipremnum aureum (pothos), Sansevieria trifasciata (snake plant), Aglaonema spp. (Chinese evergreen), Philodendron scandens (heart-leaf philodendron), Yucca elephantipes, Chlorophytum comosum (spider plant), and Dracaena deremensis 'Janet Craig.'

I'd add:

Beaucarnea recurvata (ponytail palm)
Chlorophytum orchidantheroides 'Fire Flash' (Fire Flash)
Dracaena deremensis 'Lemon-Lime'
Dracaena deremensis 'Warneckii'
Dracaena fragrans 'Limelight'
Euphorbia tirucalli (pencil cactus)
Hoya carnosa (wax plant)
Monstera deliciosa (split-leaf philodendron)
Plectranthus nummularis (Swedish ivy)
Synadenium grantii (African milk bush? African milk tree? Who can keep all those wacky common names straight? ;^)
Tradescantia spp. (purple heart, wandering Jew)

mr subjunctive... you say... who can keep all those common names straight but I'm wondering who can keep all those crazy botanical names straight??? ;-))))

I have found Hoyas to be difficult! They seem to be bug magnets and they need very high light or the vines get too long between leaves. Maybe I'm just growing the wrong kinds... I think all mine are Carnosas. Are there better choices I could make there?

Is Euphorbia tirucalli (pencil cactus) the same as what is called firesticks because the sap will burn your skin? If so I agree they are easy but I was scared to death of mine and left it outside to freeze last winter. Yup, I'm ashamed, but fear will make you do crazy things. ;-)

You have 3 Draceaenas listed and I don't own one! I'll have to correct that asap.

Some people do have trouble with Hoyas, which I knew, so I never bought any until last fall, as an experiment. The one I got then (which I think was a 'Krimson Queen') hasn't ever given me any trouble, and in fact has grown like crazy (probably tripled in size in less than a year). Somebody on the HP forum said not too long ago that s/he found the 'Hindu Rope' types difficult, because of bug problems, but beyond that I don't know of anything specific to recommend. Maybe they shouldn't be beginner plants.

Euphorbia tirucalli is and is not the same thing as 'Firesticks.' I think 'Firesticks' is a particular cultivar that turns yellow and red (firey colors, hence the name) at the tips when it's in full sun; I just have the ordinary variety, which is just green all the time. E. tirucalli is the plant I've had second-longest (first is a Yucca elephantipes), and it's been almost ridiculously accommodating. No problems with droughts, no problems without any sun at all for a couple years (it *did* have a fairly bright north window). It doesn't grow very fast for me, because I'm neglectful (I kind of take it for granted, I suppose), but it's also never complained about anything, in six years. I've also never had any sap-sensitivity problems.

I think Dracaena deremensis 'Lemon-Lime' is one of the best plants I've ever had, personally. Got one two years ago in a 6-inch pot, maybe ten inches tall including the pot, and it's now about 2 and a half feet high, in an 8-inch pot. Most of the growth happened in the second year I had it. The only Dracaena species I don't get along with is D. marginata -- I don't kill them, but they don't like me very well.