HEDERA HELIX
Including:- Hedera hibernica
Family and Genus:- See- ARALIACEAE
Common Names:- Ivy
Homotypic Synonyms:- Hedera communis, Hedera helix var. vulgaris, Hedera
poetarum, Hedera poetica.
Meaning:- Hedera (L) Ivy.
Helix (Gr) An ancient name for twining plants.
General description:- Woody stems, climbing or procumbent, clinging to rocks
and trees, with numerous small roots.
Leaves:-
1) 50-100 mm long, with a 15-20 mm. petiole, alternate.
a) juvenile leaves, divided to the base into 5 separate lobed leaflets on the
creeping and climbing stems.
b) adult leaves, unlobed, cordate on fertile flowering stems exposed to full sun,
usually high in the crowns of trees or the top of rock faces. dark green,
smooth.
Flower:-
1) Individually small, in 3-5c m diam, umbels, greenish-yellow, very rich in nectar.
Fruit:-
1) Berries, 8-10mm, containing 1-5 seeds, black.
Key features:-
1) Leaves, on non-flowering shoots usually less than 15 cm, distinctly lobed.
2) Hairs, on young shoots and inflorescence 0·15-0·4 mm diam., stellate, mostly
with 6-10 squarrose rays, united only at the extreme base.
3) Ripe fruit, black
Habitat:- Rock faces, walls, trees.
Distribution:- Native to central, northern, and western Europe, ranging across
continental climates from the British Isles and Scandinavia south to the
Mediterranean and east into Ukraine. It has also been widely introduced globally.
native. Common, and widespread across almost the entire British Isles. It is
abundant in lowlands and woodlands, though it is largely absent from the Scottish
Highlands, considered an introduction in Orkney and Shetland.
Flowering time:- Apr-July.
Photo by:- Steve Lenton
SPECIES DESCRIPTION
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HEDERA HIBERNICA Back to Top
Common Names:- Irish ivy, Atlantic ivy
Homotypic Synonyms:- Hedera helix f. Hibernica, Hedera helix var.
Hibernica, Hedera helix subsp. hibernica.
Meaning:- Hibernica (L) From Ireland, Irish
Resembling Hedera helix, but differing in the following characters:-
1) Leaves,
a) pale yellowish-green or bright emerald.
b) larger, (up to 10 cm wide) with shallower, more rounded lobes.
c) hairs, tiny star-shaped on young shoots and leaves, lying flat against the
surface.
2) Stems, with a sweet, pine-like scent.
Habitat:- Naturally inhabits cool, damp woodlands, sea cliffs, rocky outcrops, and
hedgerows, favoring mild oceanic climates with moist, humus-rich, and neutral-to-
alkaline soils
Distribution:- Within Britain and Ireland, it shows an oceanic southern-temperate
distribution, being much more frequent in western coastal areas and Ireland, where
it often replaces Hedera helix in the wild
Flowering time:- Late autumn, specifically from September to November
Photos by:-