Hedera helix L. subsp. helix
Young stems and petioles green to purplish, with (3)-6-10-rayed stellate hairs; lvs of non-flowering shoots usually conspicuously 5-lobed, variegated or not.
N.: scattered throughout; S.: Nelson, common in Canterbury and Marlborough, Otago Peninsula; St.: Halfmoon Bay.
Temperate Europe, Asia 1873
Waste places, riverbeds and stream banks, cliffs, often climbing over trees and fences.
FL Mar-May FT Aug-Dec.
Poisonous (Connor 1977).
subsp. helix is widely cultivated, often escaping and becoming established from vacant lots, cemeteries, and deserted homes. The seeds are dispersed by birds which readily eat the frs. There are many distinctive cvs of the common ivy; these vary in habit, lf shape and colouring.
