Arrowhead vine and golden pothos management

Stephen F. Enloe

Invasive Plant Extension Specialist

Golden pothos Arrowhead vine

Araceae (Arum Family, AKA Aroids)

• ~114 genera, ~3750 known species

• Most famous for the titan arum • Amorphophallus titanium

• Florida has it’s share of invaders from this family

By Sailing moose - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70296828

Araceae features

• Monocots with a spadix

• Strongly rhizomatous or with tubers

• Many possess raphides

• Many are thermogenic

• Many stink

• Insect pollinated

What are raphides?

• Calcium oxalate crystals

• Cause painful stinging and burning to the mouth and throat

• Sap may cause eye injury

• Well known in history from Dieffenbachia aka “dumb cane”

• Present in both Syngonium and Epipremnum

Golden Pothos; devil’s ivy, Centipede tongavineEpipremnum pinnatum (L.) Engl. Cv Aureum

• Originally endemic to Mo’orea from the Society Islands

• Cultivated as an ornamental worldwide

• Cultivated for ornamental purposes by the 1940’s

• Introduced by USDA in 1974

6000 km

Society Islands

Evergreen vine to ~20 m (~66 ft) tall, stems to 4 cm (2 in) diameter, numerous aerial roots which adhere to surfaces

Epipremnum pinnatumdescription

Leaves alternate and heart-shaped, entire (juvenile plants), generally under 20 cm (8 in) long

Leaves irregularly pinnatifid on mature plants, up to 100 cm (39 in) long and 45 cm (18 in) broad;

The flowers in a spathe up to 23 cm (9 in) long Flowering is extremely RARE

Philodendron or Pothos?

https://www.stamenandstemblog.com/blog/pothos-vs-philodendron

Pothos

https://www.stamenandstemblog.com/blog/pothos-vs-philodendron

Philodendron

Arrowhead vine; American evergreenSyngonium podophyllum Schott• Native to Latin America

from Mexico to Bolivia

• Cultivated and exported from many tropical countries

• First herbarium specimen documented in Brevard county in 1966

Alternate, three-lobed, arrow-shaped leaves

Syngonium podophyllum characteristics

Mature leaves are compound, dark green, and segmented into three leaflets, developing with age to 5–9 leaflets. The central leaflet is the longest.

• Very thick fleshy stems• Leaves and stems

contain a milky sap

Tony Pernas, USDI National Park Service, Bugwood.org

4-11 spikes (spadixes) from the leaf axils, each w/ 6–9 green tubular flowers, enclosed in a spathe (RARE)

Fruits red to reddish-orange with many black or brown seeds

Management options

• Hand removal• Wear gloves, long sleeves, and eye protection

• Stem fragmentation and disposal are issues due to ease of propagation

• Cutting climbing stems in a poodle cut manner may not be enough• Available moisture may facilitate survival and rerooting

• Biological controls not currently available

• Prescribed fire will not be an option in many infestations

Chemical Control

• Cut stem (contractor efforts)• Triclopyr ester in oil (10-20%), treat both cut ends

• Triclopyr amine (100%) in a jar, leave cut ends in herbicide for 1-5 minutes

• Basal bark• Triclopyr ester in oil (10%)

• Foliar• Triclopyr ester (3%)

Recent contractor efforts:

• Glyphosate (3%) + Carfentrazone (0.25%)

• Escort

Ryan Brown, SFWMD

Glyphosate (3%) + Carfentrazone (0.25%) (0DAT)

Ryan Brown, SFWMD

Ryan Brown, SFWMD

Herbicides in need of testing

• ALS + PPO combos

• Glyphosate + PPO combos

• Metsulfuron

• Florpyrauxifen-benzyl

Questions?

sfenloe@ufl.edu