Pothos pinnatus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl., ed. 2, 2: 1324. 1763; Epipremnum angustilobum K. Krause; E. elegans Engler; E. formosanum Hayata; E. glaucicephalum Elmer; E. merrillii (Engler) Engler & K. Krause; E. mirabile Schott; Monstera caudata (Roxburgh) Schott; M. dilacerata (K. Koch & Sello) C. Koch; M. pinnata (Linnaeus) Schott; M. pinnatifida (Roxburgh) Schott; Polypodium laciniatum N. L. Burman; Pothos caudatus Roxburgh; P. pinnatifidus Roxburgh; Rhaphidophora caudata (Roxburgh) Schott; R. cunninghamii Schott; R. dilacerata (K. Koch & Sello) C. Koch; R. formosana Engler (1879); R. formosana (Hayata) M. Hotta (1970); R. laciniata (N. L. Burman) Merrill; R. lovellae F. M. Bailey; R. merrillii Engler; R. neocaledonica Guillaumin; R. pertusa (Roxburgh) Schott var. vitiensis (Schott) Engler; R. pinnata (Linnaeus) Schott; R. pinnatifida (Roxburgh) Schott; R. vitiensis Schott; R. wallichii Schott; Scindapsus caudatus (Roxburgh) Schott & Endlicher; S. dilaceratus K. Koch & Sello; S. forsteri Endlicher; S. pinnatifidus (Roxburgh) Schott; S. pinnatus (Linnaeus) Schott; Tornelia dilacerata (K. Koch & Sello) Schott.

Root climbers, to 15 m. Mature stem 5-40 mm in diam., internodes separated by prominent leaf scars, obscured by sheath fibers, active stems lustrous green with prominent irregular longitudinal whitish crests. Foliage leaves often clustered distally; petiole dark green, 19.5-60 cm × 3-13 mm, canaliculate, smooth; apical pulvinus 16-70 × 3-5 mm, basal pulvinus 3-7 × 1-1.5 cm; petiolar sheath extending to halfway along apical pulvinus, disintegrating into netted fibers; leaf blade ovate to oblong-elliptic, 10-93 × 5-60 cm, submembranous, base slightly cordate, regularly pinnatifid to pinnatisect, apex acuminate; pinnae paler abaxially, adaxially dark green, 1.2-6.5 cm wide, with tiny perforations along and adjacent to midrib, pinnae each with 1 primary lateral vein and several parallel interprimary veins, higher order venation reticulate, midrib prominently raised abaxially, impressed adaxially. Inflorescence several together, partially obscured by netted fibers; peduncle pale green, 5.5-21.5 cm × 4-10 mm, terete. Spathe dull yellow to mid-green outside, dull yellow or pale green inside, canoe-shaped, 7-23.5 × 3-15 cm, stoutly attenuate to 15 mm, opening almost flat at anthesis. Spadix sessile, white, later glaucous gray-green to yellow, cylindric, 8.5-25 × 1.1-3.5 cm, base slightly obliquely inserted. Flowers 3-7 mm in diam. Ovary cylindric, 4-12 × 2-7 mm, basal part slightly compressed; ovules 2 or 3; stylar region trapezoid, 3-7 × 1.5-4 mm, rather robust, truncate; stigma longitudinally linear-oblong, 2-6 × 0.1-0.5 mm. Fruit mid-green. Seeds reniform, ca. 4.5 × 3.5 mm. Fl. Apr-Jul.

The plants are used medicinally to treat traumatic injuries, abscesses, and rheumatic arthralgia.

Tropical rain forests, mountain forests, creeping and climbing on trees, rocks, or stone walls; below 2000 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan [Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam; Australia (Queensland), Pacific islands].