ivy

Hedera helix

Facts

Why not download our ivy fact sheet?

ivy fact sheet

A common, evergreen climber 

• Also sprawls over the ground
   
• Dark green, glossy leaves are three- or five-lobed, (like a maple leaf), on young stems
   
• Leaves are heart-shaped on the flowering stems
   
• The yellowish-green flowers are borne in small clusters
   

Where found

Grows well almost anywhere throughout the UK – woodland, scrub, isolated trees, wasteland, walls and rocks.
 

When to look for

• Flowers in September/October - view live map
  
  
• Ripe fruit in November to January
  

Fabulous ivy facts

• Ivy's late flowering season makes it a valuable source of nectar for many insects prior to hibernation, particularly bees and butterflies
  
  
• The berries provide many birds, particularly wood pigeon, various thrushes and blackbirds, with abundant food supplies during the most severe months of winter, when little else is available to them
  
  
• Holly blue butterflies lay eggs on ivy in the summer, and on holly in the spring
  
  
• As ground cover in woodland, ivy greatly lessens the effect of frost, enabling birds and woodland creatures to forage in leaf litter during bitter spells
  
  
• Growing on trees, it provides hiding, roosting, hibernating and nesting places for various animals, birds and insects (including butterflies), particularly during the winter months and in areas where there are few other evergreens
  
  
• All parts of the plant are toxic to humans
  
  
• Ivy was once thought to damage mature trees, but that is now known not to be true
  
  
• Sheep, goats and deer like to browse on the leaves
  
  
• Wearing a wreath of ivy leaves around the brow is supposed to prevent one from getting drunk, as it was dedicated to the Roman god Bacchus, the God of Intoxication, who is often depicted wearing a wreath of ivy and grapevines
  
  
• Regarded as the emblem of fidelity by the ancient Greeks, priests would present a wreath of ivy to newly married couples. Today it is still the custom for bridal bouquets to contain a sprig of ivy