Hedera helix (Ivy)

Hedera helix L. (Ivy)

Perennial or creepy plant of the Ivy Family – Araliaceae- up to 30 m. Leaves till 5 or 10 cm long; glossy dark green above, bright green below; alternate, petiolated, with clear nerviation. The youngest ones palmato-lobulated with 3-5 lobules; the adults, which are exposed to the sun, entire. Flowers with 5 stamens and five petals, green yellowish, 3 to 5 centimeters wide, gathered in compound inflorescenses formed by numerous racemes. Fruits in berry, black purplish or yellow, according to the different subspecies. The flowering is produced from the end of summer to the beginning of autumn. The fruits develop along the autumn and winter and mature in spring.