Epipremnum pinnatum
(centipede tongavine)

Preferred Scientific Name

• Epipremnum pinnatum (L.) Engl.

Preferred Common Name

• centipede tongavine

Other Scientific Names

• Epipremnum angustilobum K.Krause
• Epipremnum aureum (Linden & André) G.S.Bunting
• Epipremnum elegans Engl.
• Epipremnum elegans f. ternatensis Alderw.
• Epipremnum formosanum Hayata
• Epipremnum glaucicephalum Elmer
• Epipremnum glaucicephalum Elmer ex Merr.
• Epipremnum merrillii Engl. & K.Krause
• Epipremnum mirabile Schott
• Epipremnum mirabile f. eperforatum Engl.
• Epipremnum mirabile f. multisectum Engl.
• Epipremnum pinnatum cv. Aureum Nicolson
• Epipremnum pinnatum f. multisectum (Engl.) Engl.
• Epipremnum robinsonii K.Krause
• Monstera caudata (Roxb.) Schott
• Monstera dilacerata (K.Koch & Sello) K.Koch
• Monstera pinnata (L.) Schott
• Philodendron dilaceratum Engl.
• Philodendron nechodomae Britton
• Polypodium laciniatum Blume
• Polypodium laciniatum Burm.f.
• Pothos caudatus Roxb.
• Pothos pinnatifidus Roxb.
• Pothos pinnatus L.
• Rhaphidophora caudata (Roxb.) Schott
• Rhaphidophora cunninghamii Schott
• Rhaphidophora dilacerata (K.Koch & Sello) K.Koch
• Rhaphidophora laciniata (Burm.f.) Merr.
• Rhaphidophora lovellae F.M.Bailey
• Rhaphidophora merrillii Engl.
• Rhaphidophora neocaledonica Guillaumin
• Rhaphidophora pertusa var. vitiensis (Schott) Engl
• Rhaphidophora pinnata (L.) Schott
• Rhaphidophora pinnatifida (Roxb.) Schott
• Rhaphidophora vitiensis Schott
• Rhaphidophora wallichii Schott
• Scindapsus bipinnatifidus Teijsm. & Binn.
• Scindapsus caudatus (Roxb.) Schott
• Scindapsus dilaceratus K.Koch & Sello
• Scindapsus forsteri Endl.
• Scindapsus pinnatifidus (Roxb.) Schott
• Scindapsus pinnatus (L.) Schott
• Tornelia dilacerata (K.Koch & Sello) Schott

International Common Names

• English: devil's ivy; golden pothos; money plant; monstera; taro vine; tonga vine; variegated-philodendron
• Spanish: bejuco de agua; cortina; enredadera
• Chinese: long wei cao

Local Common Names

• Australia: monstera; native monstera
• Cook Islands: ara
• Cuba: malanga trepadora; malanguita
• Ecuador/Galapagos Islands: cortina; enredadera
• Germany: Gelbe Efeutute
• Micronesia, Federated states of: selkasohlap
• Puerto Rico: bejuco de agua
• South Africa: silver vine
• Tanzania: money-plant

EPPO code

• SNDAU (Scindapsus aureus)

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Monocotyledonae
•                     Order: Arales
•                         Family: Araceae
•                             Genus: Epipremnum
•                                 Species: Epipremnum pinnatum

Araceae is a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants also known as the “aroid family”. This family comprises about 117 genera and 4095 species, distributed mostly in tropical areas in the New World, but also in Australia, Africa, Madagascar, and north temperate regions (Stevens, 2012). Species in the genera Aglaonema, Anthurium, Caladium, Dieffenbachia, Epipremnum, Monstera, Nephthytis, Philodendron, and Zantedeschia are widely planted as garden and indoor ornamentals. Additionally, the species Colocasia esculenta (taro), Xanthosoma roseum (elephant ear) and Xanthosoma sagittifolium (yautia) are cultivated as food crops for their tubers (Bown, 2000).

The genus Epipremnum includes about 14 species distributed mainly in Australia, Tropical Asia, and from Southeast Asia to the Pacific Islands (Keating, 2004; Stevens, 2012). E. pinnatum is commonly used as an ornamental in tropical regions. The cultivar E. pinnatum cv. Aureum was originally reported from the Solomon Islands, is currently cultivated throughout the tropics, and has become invasive in many locations (Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong, 2005; Randall, 2012). Although E. aureum (Linden & André) G.S. Bunting is included as an accepted name in The Plant List (2013), it is included here as a synonym of E. pinnatum.

E. pinnatum is an herbaceous root-climber that can reach 6-8 m long. Stems are flexible, cylindrical, green, and up to 3 cm in diameter, producing watery sap; bark papery. Leaves are alternate, glabrous, and green, not variegated, chartaceous, dimorphic; juvenile leaves are simple, ascendant; adult leaves hanging, pinnately dissected, to 50 × 30 cm; petioles to 35 cm long. Inflorescence is axillary, solitary, erect; spathe sub-cylindrical, up to 18 cm long, fleshy, yellowish, opening along one side, acuminate at apex; spadix sessile, nearly cylindrical, 12-15 cm long. Fruits are berries containing 1-2 seeds. In Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, fruits are unknown (Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong, 2005).

E. pinnatum cultivars were probably introduced as ornamentals and houseplants in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Exact timing of introduction to particular countries and regions is very difficult to determine. In Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, this species is commonly planted in gardens throughout the islands (Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong, 2005). The first record of E. pinnatum for Puerto Rico comes from the collection Britton 8261(NY) from the Luquillo mountains in 1925 and is described as Philodendron nechodomae. Recent collections show the species to be widely spread in Puerto Rico. The cultivar Aureum has become naturalized and a serious pest in Puerto Rico, where it grows profusely and suffocates trees along roads and forest edges including natural areas (Acevedo-Rodríguez, personal observation) In urban areas it is not uncommon to see this cultivar growing on electric and communication posts (Acevedo-Rodríguez, personal observation).

Similarly, on islands in the Pacific such as Hawaii, French Polynesia and Micronesia, E. pinnatum was probably introduced from the Solomon Islands and it is currently reported as an ornamental plant commonly planted in gardens that has escaped into natural habitats (PIER, 2012).

Soil drainage

• free
• seasonally waterlogged

Soil reaction

• acid

Soil texture

• heavy
• light
• medium

Special soil tolerances

• shallow

Within its native range, E. pinnatum can be dispersed by seeds, and vegetatively by cutting and plant fragments (Gilman, 2011; ISSG, 2012). Reproductive plants produce berries containing seeds which are eaten and dispersed by animals, mainly birds (Darwin Initiative Project, 2006). Outside its native range, plants produce flowers, but do not set fruits, and this species spreads mainly by cuttings and plant fragments (Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong, 2005). Stem fragments remain viable for long periods and have the capacity to grow into new individuals (Acevedo-Rodríguez, pers. observ.)

E. pinnatum is an aggressive invasive vine. It grows forming dense colonies that engulf native vegetation, climbing from the floor of the forest to areas high into the canopies of mature trees, and shading-out native trees and shrubs in the understory of the forests (ISSG, 2012; PIER 2012). This species has the potential to completely out-compete vegetation communities by displacing native species and changing community structures (ISSG, 2012). Tubers of E. pinnatum contain calcium oxalate crystals and are poisonous if they are consumed. Plants can cause minor skin irritation when touched (Gilman, 2011; ISSG, 2012).

• Invasive in its native range
• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Has a broad native range
• Abundant in its native range
• Tolerant of shade
• Fast growing
• Reproduces asexually

• Host damage
• Loss of medicinal resources
• Reduced native biodiversity
• Threat to/ loss of native species

• Competition - monopolizing resources
• Competition - shading
• Competition - smothering
• Competition - strangling
• Induces hypersensitivity
• Poisoning
• Rapid growth

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately

E. pinnatum is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical countries in Asia, the Pacific Islands, and West Indies (ISSG, 2012; PIER, 2012; USDA-ARS, 2012).

The species has been also used in traditional medicine in tropical Southeast Asia to treat rheumatism, fractures, and dysentery. In Singapore, leaves of E. pinnatum have a local reputation as an effective anticancer agent. A study performed in this country has revealed that leaf extracts exhibit in vitro cytotoxicity toward cancer cells, and the hot water soluble fraction of the leaf extract also produces immuno-stimulation in laboratory tests (Chen and Turner, 1998).