Pilfer, shortened.

To pilfer is to take something small, quietly, from somewhere you probably shouldn’t. A plant off the shelf at the dentist. A pothos from the bookstore window.

That’s exactly what buying one of these feels like — you didn’t come here for a plant, there’s one on the shelf, and you’re walking out with it. The difference is that you paid on your phone, the person behind the counter nodded, and it was allowed the whole time.

Said aloud, it’s one syllable. Rhymes with elf.

PILF is an apartment’s worth of cuttings in Wicker Park, Chicago, and a theory: that most people who’d like a plant never buy one because the shop is across town and the labels assume you already know what “bright indirect” means. Put the plant where people already are, tell them the room and the number of days, and grade it honestly.

The scale. · How buying works. · For a shop that wants a shelf.