Epipremnum pinnatum

Epipremnum pinnatum, the Dragon Tail Plant, is a close relative of the ubiquitous Golden Pothos, distinguished by narrower, more lance-shaped juvenile leaves that develop pinnate splits and fenestrations more readily once the plant is given something to climb. The plain wild-type species carries solid, glossy deep green leaves, the same leaf shape and climbing habit later made famous by the silvery-blue 'Cebu Blue' colour form, which is otherwise essentially identical to the species and is by far the more commonly sold form in cultivation. A separate 'Marble Variegated' selection adds irregular cream-white sectoring over the same green baseline. Like most Epipremnum, it stays compact and non-fenestrating as a trailing houseplant but grows into a heavily split, larger-leaved climber when trained up a moss pole.

Native range

Southeast Asia and the western Pacific (Philippines and neighbouring islands; widely naturalised elsewhere in the tropics)

Classification

Genus

Epipremnum

Family

Araceae

Type

Wild

Growth habit

Trailing when young, climbing hemiepiphyte with support

Morphology

Leaf shape

Lance-shaped juvenile, developing pinnateVeins or lobes arranged like a feather, branching out symmetrically on both sides of a single main central vein. splits and fenestration when climbing

Leaf length

10-20 cm juvenile, larger when mature/climbing

Leaf width

6-12 cm juvenile

Petiole colour

Green

Venation

PinnateVeins or lobes arranged like a feather, branching out symmetrically on both sides of a single main central vein.

Texture

Glossy, semi-waxy

Variegation

N/A: solid deep green leaf blade; the silvery-blue 'Cebu Blue' and cream-marbled 'Marble Variegated' are colour selections bred from this species

Growth habit

Trailing or climbing hemiepiphyteA plant that starts growing in soil but later ascends trees as a climber, supporting itself with aerial roots.