''Epipremnum'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Araceae, found in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

forests from China, the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...

, and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

to Australia the western

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> They are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

vines A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

climbing with the aid of

aerial roots Aerial roots are roots above the ground. They are almost always adventitious. They are found in diverse plant species, including epiphytes such as orchids (''Orchidaceae''), tropical coastal swamp trees such as mangroves, banyan figs (''F ...

. They may be confused with other Monstereae such as '' Rhaphidophora'', '' Scindapsus'' and ''

Amydrium ''Amydrium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae that is native to Southeast Asia, southern China, and New Guinea. ''Amydrium'' is distinguished from other members of the tribe Monstereae by having two ovules in each ovary. Th ...

''. All parts of the plants are toxic, mostly due to

trichosclereids Trichosclereids are hard needlelike branched cells Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse liv ...

(long sharp cells) and

raphides Raphides (pronounced /ˈræfɪˌdiz/, singular raphide /ˈreɪfʌɪd/ or raphis) are needle-shaped crystals of calcium oxalate monohydrate (prismatic monoclinic crystals) or calcium carbonate as aragonite ( dipyramidal orthorhombic crystals), ...

. Plants can grow to over with leaves up to 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 A houseplant, sometimes known as a pot plant, potted plant, or an indoor plant, is an ornamental plant that is grown indoors. As such, they are found in places like residences and offices, mainly for decorative purposes. Common houseplants are us ...

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions. Juvenile leaves are bright green, often with irregularly variegated patterns of yellow or white. They may find

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places *Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People * Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

trees by the use of Skototropism. Dragon-Tail Plant (Epipremnum pinnatum) 6

Etymology

From the Greek ἐπί (upon) and πρέμνον (stump).

Species

#'' Epipremnum amplissimum'' (Schott) Engl. - Queensland, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, Vanuatu #''

Epipremnum aureum ''Epipremnum aureum'' is a species in the arum family Araceae, native to Mo'orea in the Society Islands of French Polynesia. The species is a popular houseplant in temperate regions but has also become naturalised in tropical and sub-tropical f ...

'' (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 #'' Epipremnum carolinense'' Volkens - Micronesia #'' Epipremnum ceramense'' (Engl. & K.Krause) Alderw. - Maluku #'' Epipremnum dahlii'' Engl. - Bismarck Archipelago #''

Epipremnum falcifolium ''Epipremnum falcifolium'' is a flowering plant in the genus ''Epipremnum''. It is native to Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeas ...

'' Engl. - Borneo #'' Epipremnum giganteum'' (Roxb.) Schott - Indochina (Syn. ''Monstera gigantea'' (Roxb.) Schot) #'' Epipremnum meeboldii'' K.Krause - Manipur region of India #'' Epipremnum moluccanum'' Schott - Maluku #''

Epipremnum moszkowskii ''Epipremnum moszkowskii'' is a species of flowering plant of the genus '' Epipremnum'', belonging to the family Araceae, it is a woody vine endemic to the tropical rainforest in the western part of the island of New Guinea (West New Guinea). ...

'' K.Krause - western New Guinea #'' Epipremnum nobile'' (Schott) Engl. - Sulawesi #''

Epipremnum obtusum ''Epipremnum obtusum'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the genus Epipremnum and the family Araceae. It was first described by Adolf Engler and Kurt Krause. Distribution and habitat The plant occurs in New Guinea. References

...

'' Engl. & K.Krause - Papua New Guinea #'' Epipremnum papuanum'' Alderw. - Papua New Guinea #''

Epipremnum pinnatum ''Epipremnum pinnatum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae. It has many common names, including centipede tongavine and dragon-tail plant. In the Philippines, it is known in Tagalog as ''tibatib''. Distribution The plant has ...

'' (L.) Engl. - widespread across Southeast Asia, southern China, New Guinea, Melanesia, northern Australia; naturalized in West Indies #'' Epipremnum silvaticum'' Alderw. Sumatra

Fossil record

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

seeds A seed is an Plant embryogenesis, embryonic plant enclosed in a testa (botany), protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, includ ...

of †''Epipremnum crassum'' have been described from middle Miocene

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...

of the Fasterholt area near

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).Central Jutland The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative Regions of Denmark, region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

Fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

of this species have also been reported from the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but ...

and

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...

Western Siberia Western Siberia or West Siberia (russian: Западная Сибирь, Zapadnaya Sibir'; kk, Батыс Сібір) is a part of the larger region of Siberia that is mostly located in the Russian Federation. It lies between the Ural region a ...

and the

and

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

.Angiosperm Fruits and Seeds from the Middle Miocene of Jutland (Denmark) by

Else Marie Friis Else Marie Friis (born 18 June 1947) is a Danish botanist and paleontologist. She is Professor Emerita in the Department of Geoscience at Aarhus University. Her work has been fundamental in the phylogenetic analysis of angiosperms, with widesprea ...

Etymology

Species

Fossil record

References

Bibliography

External links