ivy, name applied loosely to any trailing or climbing plant climbing plant, any plant that in growing to its full height requires some support. Climbing plants may clamber over a support (climbing rose), twine up a slender support (hop, honeysuckle), or grasp the support by special processes such as adventitious aerial roots
..... Click the link for more information. , particularly cultivated forms, but more popularly a designation for Hedera helix, the so-called English ivy, and some related species of the family Araliaceae (ginseng ginseng (jĭn`sĕng), common name for the Araliaceae, a family of tropical herbs, shrubs, and trees that are often prickly and
..... Click the link for more information. family). Native to Europe and temperate Asia, English ivy is a woody evergreen vine, usually sterile, whose berries contain the poisonous principle hederin. Grown in numerous varieties, it is the most popular house and wall vine. The Boston, or Japanese, ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata, of Japan and China) and the American ivy, or Virginia creeper Virginia creeper, native woody vine (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) of the family Vitaceae ( grape family), tall growing and popular as a wall covering in the temperate United States.
..... Click the link for more information. (P. quinquefolia, of North America), are similar species of the family Vitaceae (grape grape, common name for the Vitaceae, a family of mostly climbing shrubs, widespread in tropical and subtropical regions and extending into the temperate zones. The woody vines, or lianas, climb by means of tendrils, which botanically are adaptations of terminal buds.
..... Click the link for more information. family). Both are sometimes called ampelopsis ampelopsis (ăm'pĭlŏp`səs) [Gr.
..... Click the link for more information. , a name usually reserved for another related genus. Kenilworth ivy, Cymbalaria muralis, of the family Scrophulariaceae (figwort figwort, common name for some members of the Scrophulariaceae, a family comprising chiefly herbs and small shrubs and distributed widely over all continents. The family includes a few climbing types and some parasitic and saprophytic forms.
..... Click the link for more information. family) is common to old ruins in Europe; it is often cultivated as a ground cover. Ivy was sacred to Bacchus and was associated with various pagan religions. It was formerly hung as a tavern sign in England. Ivy is classified in the division Magnoliophyta Magnoliophyta (măg'nōlēŏf`ətə)
..... Click the link for more information. , class Magnoliopsida. The ginseng family ivies are in the order Umbellales, the grape family ivies in the order Rhamnales, and the figwort family ivies in the order Scrophulariales.

ivy

English ivy (Hedera helix).

(credit: Sven Samelius)

Any of about five species of evergreen woody vines (rarely shrubs) that make up the genus Hedera in the ginseng family, commonly grown as ground covers and on stone walls, especially English ivy (H. helix), which climbs by aerial roots with adhering disks that develop on the stems. The tough, dark-green leaves of English ivy have three to five lobes and tend to droop horizontally from the stem. Unrelated plants called ivies include Boston ivy (Parthenocissus, or Ampelopsis, tricuspidata), a clinging woody vine in the grape family whose leaves turn bright scarlet in autumn, and poison ivy.

ivy

1. any woody climbing or trailing araliaceous plant of the Old World genus Hedera, esp H. helix, having lobed evergreen leaves and black berry-like fruits

2. any of various other climbing or creeping plants, such as Boston ivy, poison ivy, and ground ivy

ivy

traditional symbol of faithfulness. [Plant Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 175]

See : Faithfulness

ivy (redirected from Hedera helix)

ivy

ivy
(redirected from Hedera helix)