Siam Villa Garden: Devil's Ivy

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 forests worldwide, including northern South Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Pacific Islands and the West Indies, where it has caused severe ecological damage in some cases.

The plant has a number of common names including golden pothos, Ceylon creeper, hunter's robe, ivy arum, house plant, money plant, silver vine, Solomon Islands ivy, marble queen, and taro vine. It is also called devil's vine or devil's ivy because it is almost impossible to kill and it stays green even when kept in the dark. It is sometimes mistakenly labeled as a Philodendron in plant stores. It is commonly known as a money plant in many parts of the Indian subcontinent. It rarely flowers without artificial hormone supplements; the last known spontaneous flowering in cultivation was reported in 1964.

The plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Epipremnum aureum is an evergreen vine growing to 20 m (66 ft) tall, with stems up to 4 cm (2 in) in diameter, climbing using aerial roots which adhere to surfaces. The leaves are alternate, heart-shaped, entire on juvenile plants, but irregularly pinnatifid on mature plants, up to 100 cm (39 in) long and 45 cm (18 in) broad; juvenile leaves are much smaller, typically under 20 cm (8 in) long.

The flowers are produced in a spathe up to 23 cm (9 in) long. This plant produces trailing stems when it climbs up trees and these take root when they reach the ground and grow along with it. The leaves on these trailing stems grow up to 10 cm (4 in) long and are the ones normally seen on this plant when it is cultivated as a potted plant. In 2021 an old vine with naturally occurring fruit was unofficially reported to have been found in South Florida which had infructescenses covered by green hexagonal scales approximately 3 mm (1/8 in) thick, which scales eventually peeled away to reveal an orange kernel fruit eaten by local wildlife (probably squirrels) and having an odor similar to a ripe cantaloupe melon.

The plant can remove indoor pollutants such as formaldehyde, trichloroethene, toluene, xylene, and benzene in controlled circumstances (e.g. a sealed room). A study found that this effect declined as the molecular weight of the polluting substance increased.

The plant is sometimes used in aquariums, placed on top of the aquarium, and allowed to grow roots in the water. This is beneficial to the plant and the aquarium as it absorbs many nitrates and uses them for growth.