| MadSci Network: Botany |
On the internet, you can do a search on google.com or other search engine and find lots of information on pothos. You will find more scientific information by searching with its scientific name, Epipremnum aureum. Some botanists now think Epipremnum pinnatum cv. Aureum is the correct scientific name but most horticulturists still use Epipremnum aureum. Cv. stands for cultivar which is a contraction of "cultivated variety." Cultivars can also be written in single quotes, e.g. 'Aureum'. In a library, you will find info on pothos in gardening and horticulture books especially in houseplant books. Ask your librarian for help if you have trouble. Like nearly all plants, pothos needs six macronutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulfur. Plants also require at least eight micronutrients, iron, boron, manganese, copper, zinc, molybdenum, nickel and chlorine. Chlorine is so widespread in the environment that plants are never deficient in chlorine under natural conditions. Nickel is not added to fertilizer either because it too is widespread enough that a deficiency does not occur naturally. Check your fertilizer label to see which of those nutrients it contains. Your tap water may contain significant amounts of calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, boron or other nutrients. Contact your water company for a water analysis. Potting soil may supply a starter fetilizer and lime, which has calcium and magnesium. A hydroponic fertilizer recipe, such as Hoagland solution, gives an idea of the relative amounts of nutrients plants require. I published some scientific papers on pothos. I studied calcium deficiency symptoms and how pothos changed the rootzone pH when grown in hydroponics. Pothos contains calcium oxalate which makes it toxic to eat. The sap may also be irritating to the skin so be careful if you cut the stems. Pothos is a vine supposedly native to the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. Pothos used for houseplants are usually juvenile forms, meaning they will not flower. Juvenile pothos have leaves up to about 15 cm long and entire. The mature forms have leaves up to 75 cm that are sometimes lobed and dissected. Mature forms can flower. There are several cultivars in the trade with various amounts of yellow or white leaf variegation, such as 'Marble Queen', 'Wilcoxii', 'Hawaiian' and 'Tricolor'. 'Neon' has all yellow leaves. All-green forms, 'Green Gold' and 'Jade' are also available. Some people believe the more light, the greater the amount of variegation in the variegated cultivars. Pothos is considered a very tough houseplant because it tolerates low light and infrequent watering. Shoot cuttings are easily rooted. References Golden pothos Epipremnum aureum Pothos Epipremnum pinnatum cv. Aureum Pothos Production Overview Mature Pothos Photo Mature Pothos Photo Epipremnum aureum
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