Did you know "Pothos" aren't actually Pothos?

Did you know that what we call Pothos are not actually Pothos?? And why do we call them that if it's incorrect? Well...they've had quite the history.

Then what are they?

The scientific name for the houseplant we most commonly call Pothos is actually Epipremnum aureum (sometimes Epipremnum pinnatum are included as well - especially 'Cebu Blue').

Other trailing plants such as heartleaf philodendrons (Philodendron hederaceum), and Scindapsus varieties are often included as well.

Is there even a true Pothos?

True Pothos actually look very different. If you wanted to compare their appearance with another popular houseplants, they'd be most similar to shingling plants such as Monstera dubia and Rhaphidophora hayi.

In the photo below you can see a comparison of both a true Pothos and an E. aureum.

So...why do we call them Pothos then?

E. aureum was originally published and identified incorrectly as (you guessed it) Pothos aurea. It was then incorrectly identified two more times as Scindapsus aureus and Rhaphidophora aurea before finally being correctly published as Epipremnum aureum.

As you can see the original name from1880 just stuck all the way up until now!

The Timeline:

1880: Originally published incorrectly as Pothos aurea - Linden & André

1908: The genus was challenged and republished incorrectly again as Scindapsus aureus - Adolf Engler

1963: After the first reported flower, it was republished incorrectly again as Rhaphidophora aurea - Monroe Birdsey

1964: Finally, it was republished as Epipremnum aureum after it was noticed that the flowers were similar to Epipremnum pinnatum - George Bunting