Epipremnum

Epipremnum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, found in tropical forests from China, the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia to Australia the western Pacific.^[1][2][3] They are evergreen perennial vines climbing with the aid of aerial roots.^[4] They may be confused with other Monstereae such as Rhaphidophora, Scindapsus and Amydrium.

Epipremnum
Epipremnum pinnatum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Alismatales
Family:	Araceae
Subfamily:	Monsteroideae
Tribe:	Monstereae
Genus:	Epipremnum Schott
Synonyms[1]
Anthelia Schott 1863, illegitimate homonym, not Dumort. 1835

All parts of the plants are toxic, mostly due to trichosclereids (long sharp cells) and raphides. Plants can grow to over 40 m (131 ft) with leaves up to 3 m (10 ft) long, but in containers the size is much reduced. The plants, commonly known as centipede tongavine, pothos or devil's ivy, depending on species, are typically grown as houseplants in temperate regions. Juvenile leaves are bright green, often with irregularly variegated patterns of yellow or white. They may find host trees by the use of skototropism.^[5]

Spadix of Epipremnum pinnatum

Epipremnum aureum

Etymology

From the Greek ἐπί (upon) and πρέμνον (stump).^[6]

Species

1. Epipremnum amplissimum (Schott) Engl. - Queensland, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, Vanuatu
2. Epipremnum aureum (Linden & André) G.S.Bunting - native to Moorea in Polynesia; naturalized in Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Queensland, Melanesia, Seychelles, Hawaii, Florida, Costa Rica, Bermuda, the West Indies, Brazil, and Ecuador
3. Epipremnum carolinense Volkens - Micronesia
4. Epipremnum ceramense (Engl. & K.Krause) Alderw. - Maluku
5. Epipremnum dahlii Engl. - Bismarck Archipelago
6. Epipremnum falcifolium Engl. - Borneo
7. Epipremnum giganteum (Roxb.) Schott - Indochina (Syn. Monstera gigantea (Roxb.) Schot)
8. Epipremnum meeboldii K.Krause - Manipur region of India
9. Epipremnum moluccanum Schott - Maluku
10. Epipremnum moszkowskii K.Krause - western New Guinea
11. Epipremnum nobile (Schott) Engl. - Sulawesi
12. Epipremnum obtusum Engl. & K.Krause - Papua New Guinea
13. Epipremnum papuanum Alderw. - Papua New Guinea
14. Epipremnum pinnatum (L.) Engl. - widespread across Southeast Asia, southern China, New Guinea, Melanesia, northern Australia; naturalized in West Indies
15. Epipremnum silvaticum Alderw. Sumatra

Fossil record

Three fossil seeds of †Epipremnum crassum have been described from middle Miocene strata of the Fasterholt area near Silkeborg in Central Jutland, Denmark. Fossils of this species have also been reported from the Oligocene and Miocene of Western Siberia and the Miocene and Pliocene of Europe.^[7]