Epipremnum aureum: The Story of Pothos
Epipremnum aureum, commonly known as pothos, is easy to recognise as a houseplant. Long stems trail from the pot, carrying heart-shaped leaves. Golden forms have yellow markings, Marble Queen is patterned with cream and green, and Neon has bright yellow-green foliage.
When it grows upward, the vine changes dramatically. Its stems thicken, its leaves become much larger, and mature leaves develop deep divisions. Roots growing from the stem also take on different jobs as the plant climbs.
Botanists have placed the species in several different genera, and the origin of the cultivated golden form is still uncertain. Nurseries in several countries were selling it soon after its formal description in 1880, and growers propagated it from cuttings for generations. Breeders later learned how to induce flowering and raise new plants from seed.
What exactly is Epipremnum aureum?
Why we commonly call it pothos
The common name “pothos” comes from the plant's old scientific name.
The golden vine was published as Pothos aureus in 1880. Botanists later moved it to other genera, but the name “pothos” remained in everyday horticultural use.
This can be confusing because Pothos is still the scientific name of a separate genus. The houseplant usually called pothos belongs to Epipremnum.
The name is also used loosely in shops. Cebu Blue belongs to Epipremnum pinnatum. Satin pothos belongs to Scindapsus. Heartleaf philodendron is Philodendron hederaceum. Each is a separate aroid.
Epipremnum aureum has gathered other common names over time as well. “Devil's ivy” has been used for decades, although the origin of that name is unclear.
“Money plant” has a long history in parts of Southeast Asia. An account from Singapore and Malaya linked the name with a belief that flowering brought prosperity.
How the scientific name changed
The plant was first published as Pothos aureus. Botanists later placed it in Scindapsus, then Rhaphidophora, and finally Epipremnum.
One reason classification took time was the plant's reluctance to flower in cultivation. Early botanists had plenty of leaves and stems to examine, while flowers were rarely available. Flowers contain features botanists use to tell related aroids apart.
Once cultivated plants finally flowered, botanists could examine those missing features and reconsider its classification.
By then, the plant was already being grown internationally. Older scientific names continued to appear in nursery catalogues, books and everyday language even after the classification changed.
Where did the cultivated golden form come from?
The earliest published account linked the plant to the Solomon Islands, and later nineteenth-century nursery and botanical records repeated that origin. No wild population there has been verified as the source of the cultivated golden form.
Later botanical work did not resolve where the cultivated golden form first came from. One possibility is that the plant encountered in the Solomon Islands was already in cultivation there.
Kew currently recognises Epipremnum aureum as a separate species and gives Moorea in the Society Islands as its native range.
Other botanical treatments place relevant plants within Epipremnum pinnatum, and genetic work on sampled Pacific taro vine has found very close similarity with E. pinnatum.
How the cultivated golden form relates to Epipremnum pinnatum, and where it ultimately came from, remain unsettled.
Epipremnum aureum is a climbing vine of wet tropical environments. Until botanists can link the cultivated plant confidently to wild populations, its original range and history remain uncertain.
How Epipremnum aureum changes as it climbs
From trailing vine to large climber
A trailing Epipremnum aureum often keeps smaller leaves while its stems grow sideways or hang down.
The plant changes as it climbs.
Its stems become thicker and stronger. Leaf stalks lengthen. New leaves become progressively larger, and mature leaves develop deep cuts from the edges towards the centre.
Botanical descriptions record mature leaves approaching about 90 × 60 cm.
The vine can also send out long shoots that extend towards new climbing surfaces. On established plants, some shoots grow down from higher positions, while roots along the stems hold the plant in place and connect it with water and soil.
Growers had already noticed decades ago that climbing plants produced much larger foliage.
What drives larger climbing leaves
Experiments show that leaf size responds to light, upward growth and physical contact with a support.
In experiments, stronger light increased leaf size even on some plants that were hanging or growing horizontally. The largest leaves developed when stronger light was combined with upward growth and contact with a support. Some leaves reached close to 1,000 cm² under those conditions.
Later experiments found the same general pattern, with climbing plants in stronger light producing especially large leaves.
A moss pole gives the vine a surface to climb and keeps new growth moving upward and in contact with a support.
Cuttings from the same Epipremnum aureum can develop very different appearances. A trailing stem can keep smaller leaves, while a climbing stem gradually develops much larger, increasingly divided leaves.
How mature leaves develop
The heart-shaped leaves seen on many indoor plants are typical of stems that trail or have not yet developed mature climbing growth.
As climbing stems develop, new leaves can become much larger and more deeply divided. The cuts extend inward from the leaf edge, producing the mature form botanists call pinnatifid.
Roots built for different jobs
Attachment roots and feeder roots
Roots growing from the stem can serve different purposes.
Short attachment roots help hold Epipremnum aureum against a trunk or another climbing surface.
Long feeder roots can grow from higher parts of the vine towards the ground, helping connect the climbing stems with soil and water.
Botanists noticed these different roots more than a century ago. The same aerial root can develop differently along its length.
How one root adapts along its length
Parts of an aerial root exposed to open air develop protective outer tissue that helps reduce water loss.
Where the root touches a tree trunk or other support, root hairs remain. Tracer experiments have shown that water can enter through these contact areas.
Different sections of the same root can therefore perform different jobs depending on where they are growing.
The brown roots on a climbing Epipremnum aureum are functional parts of the plant. Some hold the stem in place. Some take up water where they make suitable contact. Long feeder roots can grow back towards the soil.
Flowering and seed production
Why flowering mattered to botanists
Cultivated Epipremnum aureum flowers very rarely.
For a long time, botanists had plenty of leaves and stems to examine but few flowers. When cultivated plants finally flowered, they could study the floral features used to distinguish related aroids.
Why flowering is so rare
Scientists studying cultivated Epipremnum aureum found unusually low levels of gibberellins, plant hormones involved in growth and flowering.
When the plants were treated with gibberellic acid, or GA₃, they flowered.
The response to GA₃ showed that gibberellins help control flowering and gave breeders a way to produce flowers for controlled crosses.
From flowers to seeds
Breeders used this approach with Marble Queen.
They induced the plants to flower, pollinated the flowers by hand and successfully produced seeds. This confirmed that Epipremnum aureum can reproduce sexually, and breeders could then select seedlings with useful new traits.
We still know little about how the plant reproduces in the wild. Its natural pollinators, how its seeds are dispersed and how often wild seedlings establish have not been well documented. It is also unclear how much seed production contributes to populations that have escaped cultivation.
How Epipremnum aureum became a global houseplant
Easy propagation helped it spread
Epipremnum aureum roots readily from stem pieces with a node.
Growers can propagate a successful plant again and again while preserving its appearance and other inherited traits. Because cuttings root so readily, nurseries could multiply pothos quickly and sell it widely.
From 1880 novelty to international nursery plant
Pothos aureus was formally published in 1880.
British nursery William Bull listed Pothos aureus among plants sent out in 1881. Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, recorded its introduction in 1881. Hoopes, Bro. & Thomas offered it in an American catalogue in 1882, and Singapore Botanic Gardens listed it among plants introduced that same year.
By the turn of the twentieth century, American horticultural literature was already describing it as a common cultivated plant.
It was already spreading internationally while botanists were still deciding how it should be classified.
Nurseries continued to use older scientific names, and the Solomon Islands origin kept appearing in catalogues. Commercial names such as Golden Ceylon Creeper were used too.
Growers could sell it in many forms
Epipremnum aureum could be grown as a small pot plant, a hanging basket, a climbing plant on a support or a large specimen for indoor displays.
How large the trade became
By the twenty-first century, pothos was being produced in huge numbers.
In the 2019 US Census of Horticultural Specialties, growers reported millions of potted Epipremnum plants and more than 1.6 million pothos hanging baskets.
The USDA's separate figures for pots and hanging baskets add up to roughly US$22.9 million in total sales.
By then, Epipremnum aureum had been grown and sold commercially for well over a century.
For much of that history, growers kept multiplying the same familiar forms. New cultivars appeared when plants mutated naturally and later when breeders deliberately created and selected new traits.
How Epipremnum aureum cultivars developed
Golden, Marble Queen, Jade and Neon
For decades, most cultivated Epipremnum aureum belonged to a small group of familiar cultivars.
Golden, Marble Queen and Jade were established for decades, with Neon appearing later.
The history of these older cultivars is incomplete.
Marble Queen was already an established, unpatented cultivar by 1953. Its original breeder, place of origin and first release date are unknown.
Jade also has an uncertain history. Botanist Peter Boyce suggested that it may have come from a Marble Queen shoot that lost its variegation and turned green, although he presented this only as a possibility.
Neon appeared later. Commercial records suggest that it emerged after the mid-1970s and was being sold by the late 1980s. Its original breeder and precise release date remain unknown.
Newer cultivars often have much better records because patents and plant-variety registrations preserve their histories.
New cultivars can appear in several ways
Some start with a single branch that suddenly produces different foliage.
If that change remains stable when the branch is propagated, growers can keep multiplying it. This kind of naturally occurring mutation is often called a branch sport.
NJOY, Manjula, Global Green, Jessenia and Lemon Meringue were all first noticed as branch mutations. Manjula appeared on a breeder's selection called ‘Compacta’. Costa Farms traces Lemon Meringue to a mutation on Global Green.
At the University of Florida, researchers deliberately increased the chance of mutations by exposing Marble Queen to gamma radiation, then selected plants with useful new characteristics. This work produced Green Genie and Pearls and Jade.
Plants produced through tissue culture sometimes differ from the original. Growers can keep and propagate plants with useful differences.
Marble Queen's influence
Several modern Epipremnum aureum cultivars trace back to Marble Queen.
Valencia was selected in Japan from a mutation on Marble Queen. Global Green, formally registered as ‘Asaoka Second’, is also recorded as a Marble Queen mutation. Jessenia came from Marble Queen, and NJOY traces back to Marble Queen through an earlier selection.
University of Florida breeders used Marble Queen to produce Green Genie and Pearls and Jade. They later used Marble Queen in experiments that produced seedlings.
How variegation develops
Variegation simply describes visible areas of different colour on a leaf. In Epipremnum aureum, those patterns can arise in several ways.
Tissue-culture work with Golden Pothos produced stable green, variegated and pale-yellow plants. In the pale plants, the chloroplasts—the structures responsible for photosynthesis—developed differently.
Other mutations can affect chloroplast development too. Natural branch mutations, deliberately induced mutations and tissue-culture changes can all create new colour patterns.
Pale areas can contain less fully developed chloroplasts, so they may carry out less photosynthesis than greener areas.
Pothos breeding in Japan
Japanese breeders have been selecting and registering new Epipremnum cultivars for decades.
Terunori Ito and other breeders found stable mutations, propagated them and registered new varieties.
Valencia was selected in Japan from a mutation on Marble Queen. Later Teruno cultivars were selected from Valencia and other plants related to Marble Queen.
Why cultivar names can be confusing
The name used in a shop can differ from the name used in official registration records.
Global Green, for example, is formally registered as ‘Asaoka Second’.
NJOY and N'Joy Gold show a different kind of naming problem. NJOY is one cultivar. N'Joy Gold is a different registered cultivar called ‘HANSOTI 30’.
The same cultivar may therefore appear under different names in breeding records, registrations and shops. Dates can differ too: a plant may be discovered years before it is registered or widely sold.
Breeding from seed
Once Marble Queen was induced to flower and pollinated by hand, breeders could raise seedlings and choose promising plants from them.
University of Florida breeders later continued working with descendants of those seedlings, including plants multiplied through tissue culture.
Because seedlings differ genetically from one another, breeders gained new combinations of traits to select from.
When Epipremnum aureum establishes outdoors in the tropics
Stem pieces can start new plants
In warm, humid conditions, pieces of Epipremnum aureum stem can survive and produce new growth.
Experiments have shown that even fragments without established roots can regenerate.
Discarded garden material and escaped stems can therefore establish new plants in tropical and subtropical areas.
Where it has become invasive
In KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, researchers recorded 78 populations that had established outside cultivation, with an estimated 187,000 plants across roughly 3 hectares. Escaped garden plants and dumped plant material were among the likely sources.
Florida's statewide assessment gives Epipremnum aureum a high invasion-risk rating. Its legal noxious-weed list is a separate system.
In the Pacific, taro vine is highly invasive in Niue and French Polynesia. Invasive populations have also been reported in the Cook Islands, Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, and Wallis and Futuna.
A regional programme is investigating biological control, which uses carefully selected natural enemies to reduce the plant's spread. Researchers need to confirm exactly which taro vine they are targeting before testing a control organism.
Once established in suitable warm, wet climates, vines can spread quickly from stems and fragments. Their effects on surrounding vegetation differ from place to place and are still being studied.
The documented invasions are in warm tropical and subtropical regions. Most temperate European climates do not provide the same outdoor conditions throughout the year.
What this means for Epipremnum aureum at home
Light
Epipremnum aureum can keep growing in low indoor light.
With stronger light, the plant can put on more growth. Climbing plants produce their largest leaves when they receive enough light, grow upward and stay in contact with a support.
It can also handle strong light once its leaves have adjusted. A plant grown in a dim room should be moved into much stronger light gradually so the leaves have time to adapt.
How water shortage affects growth
Epipremnum aureum can survive a long period without water.
Studies found that as water became scarce, new leaves expanded more slowly and eventually stopped growing even though the plants were still alive. Photosynthesis also fell, and the plants looked increasingly stressed during prolonged drought.
So a pothos can survive a long dry period even after new growth has slowed sharply and photosynthesis has dropped.
Leaf colour and growth
Golden, Jade, Neon and other cultivars differ genetically as well as in colour.
Pale areas of a leaf may carry out less photosynthesis than greener areas.
How quickly a cultivar grows depends on its genetics as well as light, water, temperature and root health.
Roots in air and water
On a climbing stem, some roots hold the vine in place. Others take up water where they touch a suitable surface, while long feeder roots can grow back towards soil.
While growing in water, the roots can take up nitrate and other dissolved nutrients.
Because the roots can absorb dissolved nutrients, people often grow Epipremnum aureum with its roots in an aquarium or water vessel.
In an aquarium, this can help remove some dissolved nutrients from the water. Normal filtration, water changes and routine maintenance are still needed.
Calcium-oxalate irritation
Epipremnum aureum contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals.
Chewing the plant releases these crystals into the mouth and throat, where they cause irritation.
Cats and dogs may drool, show discomfort around the mouth, vomit or have difficulty swallowing after chewing the plant.
People can experience similar irritation. Sap can also irritate the skin and eyes, and direct eye exposure can cause serious injury.
Keeping the plant where pets and young children are unlikely to chew it reduces the chance of exposure.
Indoor air
In sealed laboratory chambers, Epipremnum aureum can remove measurable amounts of airborne chemicals called volatile organic compounds.
In a home, air is exchanged through ventilation, doors, windows and other openings, and a few ordinary potted houseplants make only a small contribution to pollutant removal.
Active plant filters use a fan to push room air through roots and growing media. That forced airflow is a key part of how the filter works.
For indoor air quality, good ventilation remains the practical priority.
Epipremnum aureum after more than a century in cultivation
Epipremnum aureum spread around the world through cuttings and international plant trade. Growers sold it in hanging baskets, small pots, climbing displays and large indoor specimens. New cultivars later appeared through mutations, tissue culture and plants raised from seed.
As the vine climbs, it can produce enormous divided leaves. Its aerial roots can hold onto supports, absorb water and grow back towards soil. Flowering can be induced, allowing breeders to raise new plants from seed.
Its earliest history is still uncertain.
The early claim that the plant came from the Solomon Islands has never been tied to a verified wild source. Kew recognises Epipremnum aureum as native to Moorea, while other botanical work and Pacific genetic studies link it closely with Epipremnum pinnatum.
More than a century after it entered international cultivation, Epipremnum aureum remains a familiar houseplant. Its exact wild origin and its relationship with Epipremnum pinnatum are still unresolved.
Sources
Taxonomy and horticultural history
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Plants of the World Online: Epipremnum aureum
- International Plant Names Index — Pothos aureus Linden ex André, published in 1880
- Boyce, P.C. (2004) — A Review of Epipremnum (Araceae) in Cultivation
- Furtado, C.X. (1964) — Pothos aurea Hort. Linden, Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 20: 377–380
- William Bull (Firm) — historic nursery record listing Pothos aurea among plants introduced and sent out in 1881
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya — Hortus Zeylanicus, recording Pothos aurea with an 1881 introduction date
- Hoopes, Bro. & Thomas (1882) — Handbook of Beautiful Flowers, offering “New Pothos Aurea”
- Singapore Botanic Gardens — Annual Report for 1882, listing Pothos aurea among plant introductions
- University of Florida IFAS Extension — Cultural Guidelines for Commercial Production of Interiorscape Epipremnum
- USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service — 2019 Census of Horticultural Specialties
Growth, roots and flowering
- Steinitz, B. et al. — Thigmomorphogenesis and its Interaction with Gravity in Climbing Plants of Epipremnum aureum
- Brito, C. et al. (2022) — Untangling leaf expansion triggers: A new experimental study with Epipremnum aureum
- Brito, C. et al. (2025) — Increasing leaf sizes of the vine Epipremnum aureum: photosynthesis and respiration
- Mantovani, A. & Groba, Y.C. (2026) — Sclerified Cork Outperforms the Exodermis: Root Water Permeability Decreases in the Soil-to-Canopy Transition of the Aroid Vine Epipremnum aureum
- Hung, C.-Y. et al. (2016) — Gibberellin deficiency is responsible for shy-flowering nature of Epipremnum aureum
Cultivars and breeding
- Hung, C.-Y. & Xie, J.H. (2009) — A comparison of plants regenerated from a variegated Epipremnum aureum
- Hung, C.-Y. et al. (2010) — Identification of a Mg-protoporphyrin IX monomethyl ester cyclase homologue, EaZIP, differentially expressed in variegated Epipremnum aureum ‘Golden Pothos’
- Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries — ‘Asaoka Second’ variety registration
- Community Plant Variety Office — Official Gazette 6/2021, including ‘HANSOTI 30’ and ‘Asaoka Second’ trade-name records
- Costa Farms — plant patent references for Global Green, Lemon Meringue, Manjula, Pearls and Jade and other cultivars
Invasion and ecology
- Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research — Progress for taro vine in the Pacific
- Moodley, D., Procheş, Ş. & Wilson, J.R.U. (2017) — Assessing and managing the threat posed by Epipremnum aureum in South Africa
- University of Florida IFAS — Weed Risk Assessment for Epipremnum aureum
Home-use research and safety
- University of Illinois — A Study of Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) Water Requirements
- Yadav, R.K., Sahoo, S., Yadav, A.K. & Patil, S.A. (2021) — Epipremnum aureum as a candidate for nutrient removal from wastewaters
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control — Golden Pothos toxicity
- NC State Extension — Epipremnum aureum toxicity to humans and animals, including oral and skin irritation
- Epipremnum aureum Keratopathy: Case Report and Review of the Literature — documented human eye injury after pothos sap exposure
- Cummings, B.E. & Waring, M.S. (2020) — Potted plants do not improve indoor air quality: a review and analysis of reported VOC removal efficiencies
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