Hedera hibernica

Hedera hibernica
Hedera hibernica shoot with flower buds
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Araliaceae
Genus:	Hedera
Species:	H. hibernica
Binomial name
Hedera hibernica (Kirchn.) Bean

Hedera hibernica is a species of Ivy (genus Hedera) which is native to the Atlantic coast of Europe. Its common names are the Atlantic Ivy or Irish Ivy.

Description

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 climbs by means of aerial rootlets which cling to the substrate. Native from the Atlantic region, it has been cultivated and can appear in wild outside its original area, along the Atlantic coast from Portugal, Spain, France, British Isles, Germany, Scandinavian countries, and baltic sea.

The climbing woody stems up to 20 m, based on the support by means of adventitious roots that not parasitize the tree support.Irish Ivy has tender and very large dark green leaves that have five points. The plant has an attractive and elegant aspect. It is quite common in gardening. H. hibernica, like the related H. helix (English Ivy), is a invasive weed in parts of North America with mild winters.

Irish ivy (Hedera hibernica) is an evergreen vine with a creeping, climbing growth form. The bark is first green, but soon after it becomes gray. Old branches are light gray with a finely furrowed bark. Buds are almost hidden by leaf base, egg-shaped and bright green. The leaves have entire margins and are ovoid or with five triangular lobes. The surface is glossy dark green with light ribs, while the underside is pale green. The leaves of flowering shoots is, however, oval with entire margins. Flowering occurs in September-October, where to find the flowers together in spherical crowns that are part of big end off and open clusters in particular, shrub-like shoots. The fruits are blue-black berries. Non-visible features: The plant has two kinds of roots: the ordinary into the ground and a special climb up towards the roots of the objects, the plant climb. Climbing roots are close together on the side of the branch, which faces the substrate. The whole plant and also the berries are slightly poisonous.

Irish ivy is used as an alternative to the related Common ivy (Hedera helix). Both species are classified as invasive in parts of North America, who have mild winters.

Ecology

Hedera hibernica with berries, Hertfordshire, UK, February

It may be a noxious weed or be invasive. It requires consistently moist soil, grow to full sun or in dark shade. The natural habitat is forest or dense bush which are cloud-covered for much of the year, where the dense moisture from the sea or ocean, is precipitated by the action of the relief, causing it to condense part of the moisture that falls as rain or fog, creating an habitat especially cool, saturated with moisture in the air and soil, with annual oscillation of the temperature moderated by the proximity of the ocean. Prefers well-drained or alkaline soils rich in nutrients and humus with good water provision, but is adapted in any wet land. Appears in streams, in coastal mountains, favorite distribution in humid microclimates, that is, such as cloud forest, stream valleys, and refugees in microenvironments favorable climate, in the coastal mountain ranges.