Plants can capture particulate matter (PM) on leaf surfaces, helping to reduce PM concentration in the air. In urban areas, limited space is available to increase vegetation cover, but climbing plants require little space to grow. This is why this study investigates the PM capturing capacity of different climbing plants in an urban environment. The PM was collected on the leaves of six plant species and was quantified using two experimental methods. In the gravimetric method, leaves were washed in an ultrasonic cleaner, after which the water was filtered to determine the weight of PM_coarse, PM₁₀, and PM_2.5 that was on the leaves. For the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) method, images were taken of the leaf surfaces at 125x, 250x, and 500x magnifications and the particles of
different size fractions were counted.

The results indicated that there is no statistically significant difference between the amount of PM that Hedera helix, Trachelospermum jasminoides, Wisteria sinensis, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, plastic ivy, and Rynchostegium confertum captured. They suggest that the epicuticular wax layer of plants plays an important role in long-term PM capture, with H. helix and T. jasminoides showing trends towards higher PM capture and retention, and that mosses like R. confertum have potential for efficient PM collection. A comparison of the two experimental methods indicated that the gravimetric method could be used to determine surface PM retention of different plants, whilst the ESEM method could be used to analyse particles in the wax layer and for more precise analysis of the plant leaves.