Devil's Ivy, Epipremnum pinnatum 'Aureum'
This is a very 1970's Brisbane photo.The orange flowering tree in the background is an African tulip tree, Spathodea campanulata which now has the dubious title of 'Class 3 declared pest plant under Queensland legislation'. What caught my eye however was the climber growing up the palm trees. It goes by the common name of Devil's Ivy being a popular houseplant worldwide. I have a large tub of it in a glasshouse and it is liking it so much it is climbing the walls, relishing the heat and humidity. It is still in the juvenile stage with the leaves measuring about 15cm long. As it grows the leaves get bigger and become irregularly divided and can reach about 80cm long as shown here. Botanically it has undergone quite a few name changes and is often referred to as Scindapsus, Pothos or Rhapidophhora. For the time being it is now officially Epipremnum pinnatum 'Aureum' and a member of the Aroid family. The plain green form originated in the Solomon Islands and this golden coloured form is a sport thought to have originated in nursery cultivation.Various cultivars are available and are often sold as basket plants and these include 'Golden Queen' with mainly yellow leaves, 'Neon' with chartreuse foliage and 'Marble Queen' with white variegated leaves.They are extremely tough plants and before moving my plant into a favourable spot I had neglected to water it or care for it at all for many months. Though most of the leaves had dropped off it responded quickly to a bit of TLC and is now thriving. Most of the rope like climbing stems produce roots at the nodes so cuttings are easy to strike and it is even quite happy to grow in a jar of water on a windowsill.
Hey awesome post i am so impressed with your post could you tell me how you make this so nice i am so inspired here.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing...
Garden centre in Thamesdown
I used to like the African Tulip tree until I found out that it kills off our native bees! (The nectar makes parrots tipsy too) It's a pesky murderous pest. I saw a yellow one recently which, no doubt, still kills off the bees. A shame for such a striking look tree.
ReplyDeleteI remember when we used to take cuttings of (what was then) Scindapsus aurea at Burnley. Our cuttings were then nurtured in the greenhouse and we were all delighted to see how successful they had been. Now my efforts are directed towards preventing this same plant from taking over some of our gullies - I don't think I will ever manage to eradicate it. In a tropical climate it climbs tall trees often developing stems up to 250mm thick. Scape and poisin is my method! We have much more attractive native vines I would rather grow in its place.
ReplyDelete