A pothos at Patch Plants
In the world of houseplants, the name ‘pothos’ refers to several climbing plants, but primarily we’re talking about Epipremnum aureum. Commonly known as golden pothos, it is a self-clinging evergreen vine, with lush, glossy bright-green ovate leaves that are splashed with cream or gold. Although it hails from just one island (Mo’orea, one of the Society Islands in the Pacific), it has naturalised in forests around the world, including in Australia, South Africa, and the West Indies. After taking root on the forest floor, it pulls/hoists itself up trees using self-clinging aerial roots. In some places (such as Sri Lanka), it has made a devastating nuisance of itself, so it should never be planted outside in warm regions where it is it not native and may run amok. But as a houseplant, it is superb, being difficult to kill and having been shown to rid the air of harmful pollutants (such as formaldehyde, xylene, and benzene).
Although Epipremnum aureum may take centre stage, other plants are included under the umbrella term ‘pothos’. They are mainly Epipremnum pinnatum (the money plant), Scindapsus pictus (silver vine), and Philodendron hederaceum (syn. Philodendron scandens; heart leaf). It all gets rather incestuous and confusing because Epipremnum pinnatum used to be known as Philodendron epipremnum, and Epipremnum aureum used to be classed as Scindapsus aureus and, before that, was originally labelled Pothos aureus – which is why it is still referred to as ‘pothos’ today, even though Pothos is in fact a different genus. Retailers offer a plethora of varieties stemming from these four species and, while they vary ever so slightly in shape, colour, patterning, and texture, they look very similar and
Read more on houseandgarden.co.uk