Epipremnum aureum 'Marble Queen'

History and species origin

'Marble Queen' is a long-established cultivated form of Epipremnum aureum, selected for its cream-to-white marbling over green foliage.

The species is native to Mo‘orea in French Polynesia, where it grows as a tropical forest climber.

Care for 'Marble Queen'

• Light: Keep it in bright indirect light. The pale sections have less green tissue to fuel growth, and direct sun can scorch them.
• Water: Let the upper part of the mix start drying before watering thoroughly. Do not keep the root ball wet all the time.
• Humidity: Ordinary home humidity can be sufficient, but more consistent humidity can help new leaves open without dry edges.
• Temperature: Keep it warm and away from cold draughts.
• Substrate: Pot into an airy, freely draining mixture that retains some moisture without becoming dense.
• Support: Let the vines trail, or train them up a pole or other support if you want larger leaves.
• Variegated growth: Keep some healthy green tissue on the plant. If one vine repeatedly produces fully green leaves, prune back to a node that previously showed the desired pattern.
• Feeding, repotting and propagation: Feed gently during active growth and pause if the plant slows in lower winter light. Repot when the roots fill the pot, and propagate from nodes that show both healthy green tissue and the pale pattern you want to keep.

Common 'Marble Queen' problems

• White areas turning brown: Check for direct sun, abrupt drought or very dry hot air. Correct the cause first and keep healthy green tissue intact.
• One vine produces several almost all-green leaves: Compare it with the rest of the plant. If the other stems still show normal cream-white marbling, that vine is likely reverting; remove it back to the last node that produced the Marble Queen pattern. Bright indirect light supports healthy growth but will not turn an already reverted shoot back into a marbled one.
• Yellow leaves with soft roots: Remove damaged roots, replace the old mix and water less often so the roots are no longer sitting wet. Use a clean, disinfected blade to cut back to firm, healthy tissue, and discard all rotten material you remove.
• Silvery trails or misshapen young leaves: Inspect for thrips, isolate the plant and use a labelled ornamental-plant treatment for the identified pest. Repeat only at the interval stated on the label.

Epipremnum aureum ‘Marble queen’ 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.

Who first published 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.