HEDERA HELIX subsp. HELIX

Family:- ARALIACEAE

Common Names:- Ivy

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) Lamina:

a) 50-100 mm long, with a 15-20 mm. leaf-stalk.

b) alternate.

c) there are two types:

1) juvenile leaves divided to the base into 5 separate lobed leaflets on

creeping and climbing stems.

2) and unlobed heart-shaped adult leaves on fertile flowering stems exposed

to full sun, usually high in the crowns of trees or the top of rock faces.

d) dark green smooth.

Flower:-

a) individually small, in 3-5c m diam.

b) in umbels.

c) greenish-yellow.

d) very rich in nectar.

Fruit:-

1) Berries:

a) 8-10mm.

b) containing 1-5 seeds.

c) 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:- Widespread and common throughout the Mediterranean. Widespread

and common on Crete.

Flowering time:- Apr-July.

Photo by:- Steve Lenton