Hedera helix
Read about Hedera helix in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Hedera helix, Linn. lyr. English Ivy. Fig. 1789. High climbing or creeping: lvs. usually 3-5-lobed, dark green above, pale or yellowish green beneath, — those of the flowering branches entire, generally ovate: calyx with minute teeth; calyx, pedicels and tips of young branches covered with grayish stellate hairs with 5 or 6 rays: fr. black, sometimes yellow. Eu., Canaries, N. Afr., Asia. — A very variable species, of which more than 60 varieties are cult, in European gardens. The first 3 varieties enumerated below are geographical varieties found growing wild, while the others are merely horticultural forms of garden origin. Var. hibernica, Kirchn. (var. scotica, Hort.. var. irlandica, Hort.). Lvs. larger and broader, of lighter color and thinner texture, with short and broad lobes, often subcprdate at the base: umbels and frs. larger; stellate hairs more often with 8 or occasionally 12 rays. Ireland. Var. chrysocarpa, Tenore (H. poetarum, Bertol. H. chrysocarpa, Walsh). Lvs. less deeply lobed, bright or yellowish green, often undulate, those of the flowering branches narrower: fr. yellow. Turkey, Greece, Asia Minor. Var. taurica, Rehd. (H. poetarum var. taurica, Tobler. H. taurica, Hort.). Lvs. narrower, usually undulate, bright green, those of the sterile shoots usually sagittate, with elon gated middle lobe and 1 or 2 short spreading lobes on each side at the base: rather more pubescent, stellate hairs with about 8 rays. Crimea. Possibly hybrid of H. helix and H. colchica.—The following are some of the most remarkable of the horticultural forms: Var. arborescens, Loud. (H. arborea, Hort.). Not climbing, forming an erect, low shrub: lvs. ovate to elliptic, entire. This variety is gained by using flowering branches for prop. There are also some variegated forms, as Silver Queen, with silvery variegated lvs. Var. baltica,. Hort. A small-leaved form hardly differing from the type; the hardiest or one of the hardiest of the forms in cult. Var. cavendishii, Koch (var. marginata minor, Hort.). Slow-growing, with rather small dull green Ivs., edged creamy white, striped red or pink in fall. Var. conglomerate, Nichols. Slow- growing: lvs. crowded, small, entire or 3-lobed, undulate. R.H. 1890, p. 163. Var. crenata, Hibberd (H. vitifolia and H. digitata nova, Hort.). Similar to var. digitata, but lobes shorter and broader, crenate at the margin, light green. Var. deltoidea, Hibberd (var. hastata, Hort.). Lys. rather small, bluntly deltoid, almost entire, blackish green, changing to dull purplish bronze in fall. Gn. 25, p. 141; 34, p. 493 (as A. hastata). Var. digitata, Loud. Lvs. rather large and broad, digitately lobed with 5 triangular-oblong lobes, sometimes with 2 small additional basal lobes, truncate at the base, dark green. Gn. 25, p. 141; 34, p. 493. Var. gracilis, Hibberd. Lvs. rather small, with broad, short lobes, dull green, bronzy in fall. Gn. 59, p. 154. Var. lobata major, Hibberd. Similar to var. hibernica. but lvs. somewhat smaller, more deeply lobed and lobes narrower. Var. lucid a, Hibberd. A form of var. chrysocarpa, with large deltoid lvs. not lobed or partly or slightly 3-5-lobed, glossy above: a vigorous grower. Gn. 25, p. 141; 34, p. 492. Var. lusitanica, Hesse. Similar to var. palmata. Lvs. large, to 5 in. across, light green, palmately 5-lobed with triangular lobes. Var. maculata, Hort. (H. latifolia maculata, Hort.). Similar to var. hibernica: lvs. spotted and striped yellowish white. Var. marginata, Hort. Lvs. broadly triangular- ovate, irregularly bordered yellowish white, striped red or pink in fall: of somewhat slow growth. F.E. 31:318. Var. marmorata, Hort. Similar to var. hibernica, but lvs. irregularly blotched yellowish white. Var. minima, Hibberd (var. donerailensis, Hort.). Lvs. small, 3-lobed or pedately 5-lobed, with short and spreading basal lobes, dull purplish brown in winter. Gn. 59, p. 154. M.D.G. 1897:229 and S.H. 2:237 (as var. digitata). Var. palmata, Hort. Similar to var. digitata, but lvs. 3-5-lobed with broader distinctly triangular lobes, the lateral ones more spreading, dull green. Var. pedata, Hibberd. Lvs. pedately 5-lobed, the middle lobe long and narrow, the lateral lobes much shorter, dark green with whitish veins. Gn. 25, p. 141; 34, p. 493; 59, p. 154. Var. sagittifolia, Koch. Lvs. rather small, with triangular middle lobe and short, broad and obtusish lateral lobes, deeply cordate at the base, dull dark green. Var. tesselata, Nichols. Lvs. 3-lobed with short and broad lobes, with a distinct reticulate variegation. J.H. III. 28:209; 45:99. Var. tortuosa, Hibberd. Lvs. ovate or rhombic, entire or obscurely 3-lobed, more or less curled and twisted, the curling increasing during cold weather. Gn. 55, p. 336. Var. tricolor, Hibberd (var. marginata rubra, Hort., var. elegantissima, Hort., var. cullisii, Hort.). Like var. marginata, but edges of lvs. becoming red in fall.
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Hedera helix (species name from Ancient Greek "twist, turn"), also called Ivy, Common Ivy, or English Ivy is a species of ivy native to most of Europe and southwest Asia. It is an evergreen climbing plant, growing to 20-30 m high where suitable surfaces (trees, cliffs, walls) are available, and also growing as ground cover where there are no vertical surfaces. It holds on to tree bark and rock by means of short adhesive rootlets. The helix part of the name refers to where there are spirals in the leaves.
The leaves are alternate, 4-8 cm long, with a 3-10 cm long petiole; they are of two types, with palmately five-lobed juvenile leaves on creeping and climbing stems, and unlobed cordate adult leaves on fertile flowering stems exposed to full sun, usually high in the crowns of trees or the top of rock faces. The flowers are produced from late summer until late autumn, individually small, in 3-5 cm diameter umbels, greenish-yellow, and very rich in nectar, an important late food source for bees and other insects; the fruit are small black berries ripening in late winter, and are an important food for many birds, though poisonous to humans. The seeds are dispersed by birds eating the fruit.
Plants in southeast Europe and southwest Asia (Greece, Turkey) are treated as a distinct subspecies Hedera helix subsp. poetarum, differing in orange ripe fruit.
The closely related species Hedera canariensis and Hedera hibernica are often treated as varieties or subspecies of H. helix (Flora Europaea), though they differ in chromosome number so do not hybridise readily (McAllister 1982). H. helix can be best distinguished by its usually smaller and slightly more deeply lobed leaves and somewhat less vigorous growth, though identification is often not easy.
Cultivation and uses
It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, with numerous cultivars selected for such traits as yellow, variegated or deeply lobed leaves, purple stems, and slow, dwarfed growth.
In North America (where it is often known as English Ivy), it has become naturalised and is sometimes considered an invasive species, especially in the Pacific Northwest where the climate is similar to that in its native area.
Ethnomedical Uses
- Leaves and berries are taken orally as an expectorant to treat cough and bronchitisTemplate:Fact. In 1597, the British herbalist John Gerard recommended water infused with ivy leaves as a wash for sore or watering eyes.[1]
References and external links
- Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.
- McAllister, H. (1982). New work on ivies. Int. Dendrol. Soc. Yearbook 1981: 106-109.
- Flora Europaea: Hedera helix
- Ecoflora: Hedera helix
- USDA Plants Profile: Hedera helix
- Plant Encyclopedia: Hedera helix (Photos)
