What I Like About the Earth: Part 12, Pothos Ivy

One of my favorite house plants is something called Pothos Ivy, also called Golden Pothos or Epipremnum aureum. It is a simple plant that can handle a significant amount of abuse.I have one growing in my apartment right now, and it seems intent on taking over the world. While it is best if the plant is put in soil, that is not necessary as it can grow just fine hydroponically. As a matter of fact I found my current pothos ivy on the hill behind my apartment building where someone had cast it out complete with the original potting soil. I pulled up several strands of it and brought it back to my apartment and stuck it in a jar with water. It put down roots in the water and began to make new leaves apparently puttling everything it needed from the air. I eventually got a pot with some soil for it and it has been growing just fine ever since.

One thing that many people may not realize about this common house plant it that it can grow quite large and the leaves can get as large as 30 cm (12 in.) across. Here is a picture of another pothos plant that I saw at the NC Zoo.

It's growing all over the tree in the center of the picture. Here are some other pictures for scale.

Compare that with the size of the typical house plant (same pen).