"Hedera, commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and across central-southern Asia east to Japan and Taiwan."
"Here we have a nice specimen of Hedera hibernica, also commonly named Atlantic ivy or Irish ivy. 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. Native to the Atlantic region, it has been cultivated and can appear in the wild outside its original area, along the Atlantic coast from Portugal, Spain, France, British Isles, Germany, Scandinavian countries, and Baltic Sea. Flowering occurs in September-October. The fruits are blue-black berries. The whole plant and also the berries are slightly poisonous."
"The plant has an attractive and elegant aspect. It is quite common in gardening, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Like the related Hedera helix (English ivy), Hedera hibernica is an invasive weed in parts of North America with mild winters. In fact it can be troublesome in any garden, rapidly colonising hedges, trees and borders if not kept in check."
"Uh? What do you mean there's someone in the background?"
(Attractive, elegant and slightly poisonous… Quite a nice plant I'd say…
*grins* Featuring my daaaahling, my beloved husband, Mr Graham Collinson.
The photo on my Flickr. Hope you like it!)
Sources: Wikipedia articles on Ivy and Hedera hibernica.
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