FoI
Common Ivy
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Common Ivy
E Introduced Photo: Thingnam Girija
Common name: Common Ivy, English ivy, European ivy
Botanical name: Hedera helix    Family: Araliaceae (Ivy family)
Synonyms: Hedera communis, Hedera cordata

Common Ivy is an evergreen woody climber with distinct juvenile and mature leaves. The juvenile stage usually has lobed leaves and rooting stems, and the mature stage has rootless, flowering shoots with unlobed leaves. Stems are purple-green. Juvenile leaves are dark green, leathery, 3-5-lobed, the two basal lobes are reduced in size to give the typical ivy-leaf shape. Leaves are dotted with white, star-shaped hairs. Adult leaves are unlobed, markedly narrower on shoots exposed to light. Flowers are borne in spherical clusters, each held on a flower-cluster-stalk, with a proteinaceous scent. Flowers, small greenish-yellow, are very rich in nectar, an important food source for bees and other insects. Fruits are yellow-orange to black berries, up to 6-8 mm in diameter, each containing five seeds. Common Ivy is native to Europe, and is cultivated in colder parts of India.

Identification credit: Tabish Photographed in Gangtok, Sikkim.

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