One of the last plants to flower in October and
November is Ivy. These clusters of blooms provide bees and other insects with a
welcome meal of nectar and pollen just before hibernation. Most people only
know Ivy in its juvenile phase as a climbing or sprawling plant with glossy
hand-cut leaves. The globose umbels of green flowers are born in panicles on
adult growth with entire leaves. Most species of Ivy flower once they reach the
top of their vertical support, provided there is enough light. In nature the
plant climb up trees to get closer to the light with their flowers to increase
photosynthesis and reproductive success.
All species of
Ivy (Hedera sp.) are difficult to distinguish from one another. This is
especially true of flowering ivies. At first glance the panicels of Hedera
helix 'Zorgvliet' (shown on the left) differ little from those of Hedera
azorica SSF (on the right). The flowers of Hedera algeriensis (middle) are
again similar, but have distinctly salmon coloured anthers. The size of each
globose umbel is very different though, varying from 3 cm (Common Ivy) to 4,5
cm (Azorian Ivy) and even 6 cm (in Algerian Ivy).
No comments:
Post a Comment