Epipremnum aureum
The golden pothos is one of the world's commonest houseplants. Kew accepts it as a species native only to the Society Islands of French Polynesia, where it was described from forest on Mo'orea. It is a vigorous root climber: juveniles carry small heart-shaped leaves, while adults high on trees carry leaves up to about 1 m, cut into lobes. Its warm, oceanic island climate explains its tolerance of ordinary homes, and it only needs warmth and something to climb to show adult growth.
Where it grows wild
It climbs trees and rocks in humid forest on the high volcanic islands. Juveniles creep and climb in shade near the ground, and adults climb into brighter light on tree trunks and in the canopy. Where it has escaped elsewhere in the tropics it smothers forest floors and trees. Very little has been published on truly wild populations on Mo'orea.
No reliable elevation data exists for wild plants, and few measured records carry an elevation. The Society Islands' forests run from near sea level into the mountains, and the measured climate reflects coastal lowland grid cells.
🔒 Growing it like that
The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:
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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app.