arrowhead vine and golden pothos management...epipremnum pinnatum (l.) engl. cv aureum •originally...

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