Looking for best plants to combat air pollution

I just bought a new house in San Diego and it has a great view, however it also overlooks the freeway! I am looking for the best plants to combat outdoor pollution! I want to fill up my yard with plants and trees that don't grow huge to block the view however would be great to get some shrubs, flowers, plant ideas that combat the pollution! Any ideas??

I doubt there's any plant that will do much to combat pollution. However I would recommend fruit trees for another reason -- because it's just wrong not to grow trees that give you fruit!!!

Check out our cherimoya trees (Overlooking the freeway). They seem to take just about any amount of pruning and get delicious fruit. And these are fruit you'll never find in a store -- at least not cheap.

Evergreen conifers supposedly produce the most oxygen. You want to be sure to chose varieties that will tolerate "smog"- some plants do better than others. Fruit trees usually require more water than other types of trees. I am taking a tree ID class at Southwestern College in Chula Vista- they have a tree ID manual at the campus bookstore for the trees at the campus (also available as a database for student purchase) that describes trees used in our area- the smaller evergreen trees listed in the Smog tolerant category are Acacia baileyana (30 ft. tall), Callistemon citrinus (15 ft), Ceratonia siliqua (40 ft), Olea europaea, Olive-(30'), Pinus pinea 40-60'. Hope this was helpful!

Another 'family' of plants that are considered good 'oxygenaters' are Bamgoo. Genearlly Bamboo have large leaf masses to help filter the air and produce our much needed oxygen. Bamboo are also some of the fastest growing plants. Once they get established the new culms grow very fast, a new shoot can reach it's mature height in about 3 or 4 months. (2 to 3 feet a week) This means the tall varieties can grow 40', 50' or more in just a short while. Of course if you have these planted on the 'view side' of your property they (the taller varieties) could obstruct your view. In any case, I think trying to plant plants to imrove air quality is good, but in reality I don't think it will make a big difference in your imediate area. Every little bit helps, but if you are trying to fight air pollution, the plants in your yard will have minimal effect for your imediate area. It would be ALL of the plants in your community for miles around that will help.