Manjula Pothos Vs Marble Queen (Differences and Similarities)

Last Updated on October 17, 2022 by Admin

Manjula pothos vs. Marble Queen pothos is a common comparison when you’re trying to decide on a specific plant.

For collectors, it is ensuring you get one of each instead of getting two of the same plant and missing the other one.

Because the two plants look similar in color and appearance, it can be tricky to identify one from the other.

So, in this article, I’ll help you identify one from the other.

The difference between manjula pothos and marble queen pothos lies in their leaves. Manjula pothos have swirly white and cream variegations that are more solid.

Marble Queen pothos have a more speckled white and cream variegation allowing you to see some green spots or dots between the lighter colors.

Additionally, marble queen pothos has larger leaves that are broader and flatter on the edges. Although, both plants have heart-shaped leaves.

Table of Contents

Manjula Pothos vs. Marble Queen Differences

Taxonomy

Technically, the manjula pothos and marble queen pothos have very similar and closely related taxonomies.

However, it is important to keep in mind that they are two different plants.

Therefore, like other plants, there are naming conventions used it order to tell one from the other.

The simpler one that most gardeners use is their common name.

In this case, the Manjula pothos and Marble Queen Pothos are their common names.

The problem with common names is that there some plants that are given several common names. For example, the Golden Pothos which is by far the most popular kind of pothos plant.

The Golden Pothos is also known as the Devil’s Ivy, Devil’s Vine, Ceylon Creeper, Taro Vine, Money Plant, Hunter’s Robe, Silver Vine just to name a few.

This can sometimes make it confusing.

A more problematic issue is that some people call the Golden Pothos the Money Plant. This is especially true in India and the neighboring regions.

When other people talk about the Money Plant, often they’re referring to the Chinese Money Plant (which is the Pilea peperomioides) or even the Money Tree.

In some cases, other people call some plants money plant because they’re symbols of good luck as well.

This can make it troublesome to figure out which plant people are actually talking about.

That’s why common names are not used officially by botanists.

Their overlapping nature can cause a lot of confusion since many plants can have similar common names.

Instead, we have scientific or botanical names for plants.

Here, both the manjula pothos and marble queen pothos fall under the Epipremnum aureum species. As such, both are aroids since the Epipremnum aureum is a member of the Araceae family.

As such, they are both close relatives of philodendron, monstera, anthurium, alocasia and peace lily plants, even if they don’t look anywhere near them.

The most important point here is that since the marble queen and Manjula pothos are different plants, it is important to differentiate them.

To identify these two pothos varieties, they have different scientific names. And these names are unique in that no other plant has them. So, there can be no confusion.

The Manjula Pothos is officially known as the Epipremnum aureum “Manjula”.

And the Marble Queen Pothos is botanically known as the Epipremnum aureum “Marble Queen”.

These are their scientific or botanical names.

Origin

Another unique difference between the manjula pothos and marble queen is their origin.

The most interesting thing here is that the Manjula Pothos originated from the Marble Queen Pothos.

Something like this is very common because of the Marble Queen’s beautiful looks. As a result, it has been used to create and cultivate many different cultivars of variegated pothos.

One of them is the Manjula Pothos.

As such, the key difference is where the two plants come from.

Marble Queen Pothos are a cultivar of the Epipremnum aureum. Its most stunning feature is that it has beautiful green, white and cream colors on its leaves.

These variegations make it gorgeous to look at which is why it is a very popular houseplant.

That said, the Marble Queen Pothos is native to French Polynesia, Southeast Asia and Australia. And you’ll find it in the tropical parts of these regions primarily in the rainforests.

However, because of its popularity, you’ll find it in many home growers, greenhouses and nurseries.

On the other hand, the Manjula Pothos was developed in a lab in the University of Florida. It was created by propagating Marble Queen Pothos.

As such, the origin of the Manjula Pothos stems from careful and selective breeding.

It is also a patented cultivar which is what usually happens the creators of new beautiful species do. They patent the new plant to give themselves ownership.

In many cases, botanists like to create new plants with the purpose to produce new, unique colors and combinations. Sometimes it is to create plants with unique features or many them more tolerant of home environments.

Leaf Shape

The easiest way to tell the difference between the manjula pothos and marble queen pothos are through their leaves.

I’ll begin with the leaf shape. And in the next section, I’ll discuss the color and variegation differences.

I believe that these two features make is easy to tell the two plants apart visually.

As far as shapes go, the leaves of the Manjula Pothos are smaller. They are also rounder on the edges compared to the Marble Queen Pothos.

You’ll also notice a difference in texture.

Here, the Manjula Pothos has thin leaves that somewhat feel like paper in terms of texture. Although, its leaves are not waxy. So, they are not as smooth as those of the Marble Queen.

In contrast, Marble Queen Pothos generally have larger leaves.

Its foliage are also flat on the edges with smooth texture if you run your fingers through them.

Foliage Color and Variegation

The simplest way to tell the difference between the manjula and marble queen pothos is to look at their colors and variegations.

Here, you want focus on the quality of the white and cream patterns.

Both plants have similar color schemes.

Manjula Pothos has green colored leaves with white, cream and very light yellow-cream or light green-yellow color. The latter color will vary depending on your vision.

Meanwhile, the Marble Queen Pothos has green, white can cream color combinations.

But the big difference comes in how the patterns look.

The Manjulas white, cream markings are more distinctive and solid.

In contrast, the marble queen pothos’ variegations look like they’re made from lots of dots to create large blotches. As such, you’ll see tiny specks or spots of green in between.

Its like the white, cream section was loosely painted over so you still see some green.

The other difference in their pattern is that the Manjula Pothos white and cream markings look like swirls. These start from the center of the leaves and move outwards.

The light colors also cover large sections of the leaves.

In most cases, the Marble Queen Pothos will look more green since you’ll see the specks of green appear through the white and cream colors.

Growth Rate

When it comes to growth rate, Manjula Pothos will grow faster than Marble Queen Pothos.

In fact, the Marble Queen Pothos is one of the slowest growing pothos varieties around.

This can be a good or bad thing depending on what you’re looking for in the plant.

A slower growing plant means that you won’t need as much maintenance.

For pothos, this means less trimming and removing outliers or extra long vines. It also means you do not need to prune it as often as a faster growing plant.

Then there’s repotting as well.

The slower the plant grows, the more time you have before you’ll need to repot it.

However, if you want to see the fruits of your labor sooner, then a faster growing plant is a better option.

In this case, the Manjula Pothos is a better choice.

Note that since both plants are heavily variegated, they’re growth rates can vary as well.

Based on my own experience and studies done by botanists, the same plant can have different growth rates based on how much variegation they have.

So, if you have 2 or 3 Marble Queen Pothos for example, you’ll notice that the one with the most white and cream patterns will grow the slowest of the three.

That’s because that one does not have as much chlorophyll, which plants need for photosynthesis.

As a result, it will produce less food and energy to support growth.

Thus, the more variegated your Manjula or Marble Queen Pothos, the more you want to position it in a spot where it receives lots of indirect or filtered sunlight.

This will help it grow faster, produce more leaves and maintain its stunning colors.

Manjula vs. Marble Queen Pothos Similarities

Growth Habit

One of the most glaring similarities between the manjula pothos and marble queen pothos is their growth habits.

Of course, this comes as no surprise since the Manjula Pothos originated from the Marble Queen Pothos.

Therefore, it makes sense of the offspring to have many similar traits to its parent.

One is their growth habits.

Both are vining plants.

As such, they will grow long stems, each of which will have multiple leaves on them.

Additionally, they are avid climbers.

They like to go up objects. In fact, this is how you’ll see most pothos grow in their native habitat.

They will cling onto larger trees, trunks or plants and use their vines and aerial roots to climb up.

As such, pothos can grow to between 30 and 65 feet in the tropical jungles. And their leaves will get much bigger in the process.

This is why you may not recognize the same pothos varieties if you happen to see them in the forest. They’ll look very different from the ones you’re familiar with.

That said, allowing the Manjula and Marble Queen Pothos to climb by giving them a pole, post, totem or something similar lets them grow faster and taller as houseplants.

However, in most cases, you’ll likely see the plants hanging from containers and baskets.

This seems to be one of the most popular ways to grow and display pothos.

That’s because it lets you show off the plant’s long stems adorned with color foliage. This makes both plants stunning when they get long and bushy.

Size

Both manjula pothos and marble queen have similar sizes when grown indoors. They can grow up to 6 feet long.

Note that unlike some other plants, both of these pothos varieties are longer than they are bulky.

That’s because most of their size comes from their vines.

However, they both can get very bushy and full.

This is true when you hang them to let their vines trail downwards or allow them to climb up a pole or post.

As mentioned above, they will grow much bigger when kept outdoors. This is especially true if you leave them and let them grow in ideal forest environments.

There, they can reach over 60 feet in size.

While you can grow pothos in your garden, you do want to be careful if you do. That’s because they can be invasive as they will keep getting longer and spread.

This will allow them to overrun some of the nearby plants if you do not prune your pothos regularly.

Plant Care

Because the two plants are pothos varieties and the Manjula comes from the Marble Queen Pothos, caring for them is similar.

Better yet, they are both very easy to care for and propagate.

The plants are low maintenance and do not need a lot of water or fertilizer.

Lighting Requirements

One of the most important things to consider when caring for both the manjula and marble queen pothos is lighting.

That’s because both are variegated plants.

While the white and cream colors make both plants unique and gorgeous to look at, it also means that they require a bit more light than similar pothos with all green leaves.

Why?

The non-green portions of the leaves mean that absence of chlorophyll.

For plants, chlorophyll is very important as it performs many useful functions. In addition to giving leaves their green color, it plays a vital role in photosynthesis.

Here, chlorophyll is what absorbs or collect light that hits the leaves.

This light is then used by the plants to convert water, nutrients from fertilizer and air into food (sugars). This is how plants make their own food.

The sugars are then used for energy in order to push out new shoots, leaves and allow existing leaves to keep developing.

So, the fewer green portions in the leaves, the less light the leaves can absorb. This means less food created from photosynthesis and less energy to grow.

As such, the fewer green portions of both manjula and marble queen pothos mean that it is key to position them somewhere with plenty of light.

Otherwise, they may not grow optimally.

This will result in slow, stunted growth. The plant will be smaller, produce fewer leaves and smaller foliage as well.

What’s worse is that if they don’t get sufficient light, they could lose their white and cream variegation as well.

The reason is the plant will try to survive based on the little light it gets.

To do so, it will produce more chlorophyll which will turn the leaves more green and less white. This is a desperation effort to survive.

Thus, in very low light, both plants can revert to solid green leaves.

That would be a waste!

So, try to keep both the marble queen and manjula pothos somewhere with bright, indirect light.

Avoid low light or dark locations.

Similarly, keep it away from direct sunlight as this can scorch its leaves.