Gardendaze

This post actually ties together 2 things I have been thinking about: patterns in foliage and misidentification of plants online.

Lately I have been seeing so many plants being misidentified online. It seems to be happening when folks use stock photos. There’s nothing wrong with stock photos–they are significantly better than mine!

In certain instances, it might indicate carelessness on the part of the writer, or lack of knowledge. So be careful: writers need to know their plants–please!

And we all get tired on occasion. I perpetually confuse hyacinth and hydrangea when I am speaking. I can be looking right at the shrub “hydrangea” and call it the bulb “hyacinth” or vice versa. It’s my own personal issue.

Online, one of real confusions I see is between pothos and philodendron–and plants that are neither. So here we go.

This is philodendron ‘Brasil’. It is a true heart-leaf philodendron. You can actually see the heart shaped leaves in the photo.

This is a pothos. I believe the cultivar is Marble Queen, but don’t quote me. Botanically it is epipremnum aureum ‘Marble Queen.’ You’ll notice that the leaves are also heart shaped but both they, and the stems are thicker.

You may see this plant referred to as either neon pothos or neon philodendron. Technically, botanically, it is epipremnum aureum, which would make it a pothos.

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While we’re confusing things, here is a plant sold as a pothos, satin pothos. This isn’t a pothos and it’s not an epipremnum. Confused yet? It is scindapsus pictus hybrid.

So when I call for clarity in plant names–and using the correct photos–it’s only in an attempt help folks learn what they’re growing so that they can do it well.