Identification
Look-Alikes
Why English Ivy
is Harmful Removing English Ivy
Notes of Interest
References &
Acknowledgements |
ENGLISH IVY
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Ivy on the ground and on trees at eye level has dark green leaves with three to five lobes and whitish lines.
On trees with older ivy, mature foliage appears.
Only mature ivy flowers and seeds.
Black berries with hard seeds appear in April and probably March. This photo of one remaining berry was taken on April 17, 2004.
Small greenish-white flowers appear in fall and tend to go unnoticed because they are above six to eight feet from the ground. The mature form grows only when ivy has grown in size, with access to plenty of stored sugar, water, and light. In adverse conditions, it can revert to the immature form. White lines and lobes on leaves are barely present.
A good many berries were released before April 17, the date of this photo.House sparrows, starlings, robins, and cedar waxwings are among the birds that are reported to eat the berries. The No-Ivy League website, based in Oregon, says the berries are toxic to most birds.
Mature ivy grows unseen above eye level, and people sometimes wonder if it can be the same species as ivy seen on the ground. The photo of the berry above could not have been taken had the tree not fallen to the ground.
