They are not the same plant. Pothos is Epipremnum aureum. Heartleaf philodendron is Philodendron hederaceum. Same family, Araceae, different genus, and no amount of shop labeling changes that. Three things separate them in your hand: philodendron pushes each new leaf out of a papery sheath called a cataphyll and pothos does not, philodendron petioles are round while pothos petioles have a groove down the top, and pothos leaves are thicker and waxier with a lopsided base.
Almost everyone reading this bought one and got told it was the other. That is not carelessness on your part. "Pothos" has long been a trade name covering more than one genus, and the plants arrive at the garden center already mislabeled.
Are pothos and philodendron the same plant?
No. They are cousins, not siblings.
Araceae, the aroid family, is large and holds most of what a houseplant shop stocks: monstera, anthurium, peace lily, ZZ plant, philodendron, pothos. Everything in it shares a flower structure — a spadix wrapped in a spathe — which almost nobody ever sees indoors. What you see is leaves, and aroid leaves converge on similar shapes, which is exactly why this confusion persists.
Within the family, Epipremnum and Philodendron are separate genera. About as related as a pear tree and a rose, which are also the same family. The care overlaps, so getting it wrong is not fatal. But the plants behave differently enough at the margins — light tolerance, growth rate, how they take a hard prune — that it is worth knowing which one is on your shelf.
How do I tell the difference in my hand?
Pick the plant up and check these, in this order. The first one is close to decisive on its own.
1. The cataphyll
Philodendron produces each new leaf inside a thin papery sheath. The leaf unfurls, the sheath dries to a brown or tan husk, hangs on for a few weeks, then drops. Look at the stem behind recent growth — if you find dried papery remnants, or if there are little brown curls on the shelf underneath the plant, it is a philodendron.
Pothos does not do this. A new pothos leaf emerges rolled up from the base of the previous leaf's petiole, with no sheath and no debris. Clean stem, no husks.
2. The petiole
The petiole is the stalk between the vine and the leaf. Run a fingernail along the top of it.
Pothos has a groove — a shallow channel running the length of the stalk. Philodendron's is smooth and round in cross-section.
This is the most reliable check on a plant with no new growth, which is most plants in winter.
3. The leaf itself
Pothos leaves are thick, stiff, waxy, and faintly leathery. Bend one gently and it resists. The base where the leaf meets the petiole is noticeably lopsided — one lobe sits higher than the other.
Philodendron leaves are thinner, softer, more matte, and the heart shape is symmetrical with deeper, more pronounced lobes. New philodendron leaves often emerge brownish, bronze, or pinkish and translucent before hardening to green. New pothos leaves come in green and stay green.
4. Aerial roots (least reliable)
Pothos tends toward a single thick brown nub at each node; philodendron more often puts out a cluster of thinner roots. This one varies with age and growing conditions, so treat it as a tiebreaker rather than a verdict. The cataphyll and the petiole groove are the two that actually settle it.
Pothos vs philodendron at a glance
| Feature | Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) | Heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum) |
|---|---|---|
| New leaf emerges from | The previous leaf's petiole, no sheath | A cataphyll — papery sheath that dries and drops |
| Petiole cross-section | Grooved along the top | Round and smooth |
| Leaf texture | Thick, waxy, stiff | Thin, matte, soft |
| Leaf base | Asymmetric, one lobe higher | Symmetrical, deeper lobes |
| New growth color | Green from the start | Often bronze, brown, or pink at first |
| Aerial roots per node | Usually one thick nub | Often several thinner roots |
| Typical variegation | Irregular patches and streaks | Often a defined stripe or block |
| Tolerance of low light | Good, but variegation fades | Better; stays green either way |
What about Brasil, heartleaf, and golden?
These three get swapped constantly because two of them are variegated trailers with heart-shaped leaves.
- Golden Pothos is Epipremnum aureum. A true pothos. The gold is irregular — patches, splashes, and streaks that differ leaf to leaf, never the same twice. Thick waxy leaves, grooved petiole. See Golden Pothos.
- Heartleaf philodendron is Philodendron hederaceum. Plain deep green, thin soft leaves, cataphylls on new growth. A true philodendron. Sold out at Palma at the moment.
- Philodendron Brasil is a cultivar of that same heartleaf species. The lime-yellow marking runs as a stripe down the center of the leaf, roughly following the midrib, rather than scattering in patches. If the variegation looks deliberate and central, you are holding a Brasil. If it looks spilled, it is a pothos. Also currently sold out.
Cebu Blue is worth a footnote here: it is Epipremnum pinnatum, a genuine Epipremnum but not aureum, with matte blue-green lance-shaped leaves that look nothing like either plant above.
Is satin pothos a pothos?
No, and it is not a philodendron either. Satin pothos is Scindapsus pictus — a third genus, in the same family again.
It is easy to spot once you know: thick matte leaves with a slightly puckered, quilted surface and silver markings that sit on top of the green like dust rather than replacing it. Care is close enough to pothos that the trade name stuck, which is the entire reason for the name. Ours is Satin Pothos, currently sold out.
The other plant that lands in the wrong aisle is mini monstera, Rhaphidophora tetrasperma, which is neither a monstera nor a philodendron despite being sold as "philodendron Ginny." Split leaves, fast climb, fourth genus. Aroid naming is a mess and nobody is coming to fix it.
Which does Palma sell?
Pothos, we stock properly: Golden, Marble Queen, Neon, and N'Joy. All four are Epipremnum aureum cultivars, all four take the same care, and the only practical difference is that the more white tissue a cultivar carries, the more light it wants. The full set lives on the pothos hub.
Philodendron is thinner right now. Birkin is in stock — a self-heading philodendron with fine white pinstripes, which grows as an upright clump rather than a vine and will never be confused with a pothos. Heartleaf and Brasil are both out. Restocks show up on the philodendron hub.
If you are still not sure what you have, bring the plant to the nearest window and look for the husk and the groove. Those two answer it nearly every time. Everything we carry, with its correct botanical name attached, is listed in the Houseplant Guide.