Epipremnum aureum

Mo‘orea’s forest-floor climber

Epipremnum aureum is native to Mo‘orea in the Society Islands. Young stems travel across the wet forest floor until they reach a tree, where aerial roots fasten the vine to the trunk.

Once the vine begins to climb, its stems thicken and its leaves grow much larger. Even on mature climbing vines, the leaves rarely develop a regular pattern of deep splits. Pieces of broken stem root easily, helping the species spread and grow wild in tropical regions far beyond Mo‘orea.

Care for supported aroid vines

• Light: Give golden pothos bright, filtered light for steady growth and larger leaves. Acclimate it before allowing gentle direct sun and avoid hot midday exposure.
• Temperature and humidity: Keep the vine warm in steady indoor warmth and away from cold draughts, cold sills and radiators. Ordinary household humidity is acceptable.
• Feeding: Use a complete fertilizer at moderate strength while leaves and roots are actively growing. Reduce feeding in dim or cool conditions and flush accumulated salts with plain water only when the pot drains freely.
• Climbing: Guide each node, the joint where a leaf emerges, against a textured pole or board so its aerial roots can make contact. Mature Epipremnum aureum usually keeps broad, unsplit leaves, although an occasional leaf may develop an irregular split.
• Leaf care, repotting and watering: Cut above a node to shorten a vine or encourage another growth point. Move to a larger container when roots crowd the pot or water bypasses the rootball.

Golden pothos health problems

• Yellow marbling or harmful yellowing: Irregular gold and cream patches are normal when they repeat on firm, growing leaves. A problem usually changes through time: whole leaves yellow, veins darken, roots soften or new lesions cross both green and yellow tissue. Follow the progression and inspect the roots before changing watering or feeding.
• Bleached, black or corky patches: A dry, pale patch on the window side fits sudden sun or heat. Dark, water-soaked tissue after a cold draught suggests chilling. Raised corky marks beneath a leaf can be oedema, which develops when roots deliver water faster than the leaf releases it. Correct the exposure or water imbalance; dead tissue remains, but the mark should stop expanding.
• Silvering, stippling or sticky leaves: Thrips cause silver scars with black specks; mites cause fine stippling and sometimes webbing; mealybugs and some scale leave wax, honeydew and sooty mould. Confirm the sign on leaf undersides and nodes, then isolate the vine and remove visible pests. Choose a houseplant control whose label includes the insect or mite found. Treat the undersides and nodes and follow its repeat instructions.
• Wilt in dry or wet substrate: A light pot with a dry inner rootball and firm roots needs complete rewetting and drainage. Wilt in wet mix can result from low oxygen, chilling or damaged roots, even though water is present. Stop treating it as thirst, unpot the plant and remove roots that have turned dark, soft and easy to peel before using clean, airy substrate.

Epipremnum aureum is toxic to people and pets

• Keep this plant away from children, cats and dogs.
• Its leaves and stems contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which can irritate the mouth, throat, skin and eyes.
• Chewing may cause burning pain, drooling, swelling, vomiting or difficulty swallowing. Contact a veterinarian or medical professional after exposure, especially if swelling or breathing problems occur.

About the name Epipremnum aureum

Epipremnum combines Greek epi, meaning upon, with premnon, meaning tree trunk, referring to the way the vine attaches to a support.

Heinrich Wilhelm Schott established the genus Epipremnum in 1857 in Bonplandia (Hannover), volume 5, page 45.

Jean Jules Linden and Édouard-François André first described it as Pothos aureus in 1880 in L’Illustration Horticole, volume 27, page 69. George Sydney Bunting later placed it in Epipremnum as Epipremnum aureum in 1964 in Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, volume 50, page 28.