The common ivy or ivy (Hedera helix) a climber from the kind ivy (Hedera) is short; he is an only Central European representative of the family of the (Araliaceae). In Austria this kind also Eppich is called.

Description

The common ivy is an evergreen, plant of several years, which is by detention roots able to up-climb at walls; it erklimmt heights of up to 20 meters. The common ivy is the only native Wurzelkletterer in Central Europe. If walls are missing or similar then the ivy over-rampantly grows occasionally surface covering the soil. Ivy can reach a maximum age of 450 years.

The ivy is characterized by Sprossdimorphismus and Heterophyllie:

• Juvenilsprosse grow plagiotrop (i.e. by means of creep rungs) and are dorsiventral, only them train detention roots. They carry the three as far as sheets (shade form).
• Adulte flowering rung are roundish and upright. They are always rootless and carry simple, undivided, rhombic (sunning) sheets. Arise to flowering rung starting from an age of approximately 20 years.

Ivy flowers in the months September until Octobers and represents also thereby a characteristic within the Central European Flora, for whose bloom time mostly in the spring and summer months are appropriate. Due to this late bloom the ivy is an important source of food for bees, wasps and floating flies. The inconspicuously small yellowish green blooms are located in hemispheric Dolden and appear only at older plants.

The fruits are eaten between February and April ripely, by garden red tails, monk grass mosquitoes, stars, blackbirds and throttles. Thus the seeds are spread (Endozoochorie).

Spreading

The common ivy is domestic in west, central and south Europe from the level into middle mountain situations (about 1,800 m), in the north hands its circulation area until to South Sweden.

As location forests and bushes, quarries and ruins are preferred.

The common ivy comes of the tropical forests Tertiary period. Of it reminds the of its sheets, which derive the water rapidly.

Vegetative Vermehrung

With Stecklingen in damp earth the common ivy can be increased easily. Juvenilformen maintain their stature form and can with suitable conditions flowering rung form. An ivy plant, which came out by vegetative Vermehrung from a Adultform, maintains its upright type of stature and can never creep rung train.

Ivy in the Pflanzenheilkunde

See in addition the article: List of poisonous plants

All plant parts of the common ivy are poisonous due to the Saponingehalts. Naturheilkundler know for a long time welfare-end effect of the plant. Since by current efforts of research the effect mechanism could be decoded, preparing from ivy sheets find because of their relaxing characteristics strengthen use in means against bronchitis; they are used gladly in the child medicine.

Ivy sheets are used in very small quantities in addition in Bronchialtees, since their content of Saponinen improves the evacuation of the Schleims. In the people medicine an ivy envelope is recommended with nerve pain. In the modern times one was convinced also of the and even driving off effect of the plant: "“All pious women are to guard to take from this juice boiled or burned water to itself"” (Otto Brunfels in its Contrafayt Kreuterbuch 1532).

The ivy as garden plant

Historical development

In the classical antiquity the ivy the Gods of the Weines was geweiht. Both the old-Egyptian Osiris and the Greek Dionysus and the Roman Bacchus were represented with wine and ivy leaves.

The Greeks carried ivy rings with festive Gelagen, because the sheets were partly considered as bacchische enthusiasm waking, partly as brain-refreshingly. Also the drinking cups on celebrations in honours of the God Bacchus were berankt with ivy.

Dionysosverehrer believed, plentiful ivy occurrence at a place would be a safe indication of the presence of the God. More closely one with ivy, because the ivy was also a holy plant of the God Apoll and the Musen. In the antique one he was therefore already cultivated in the gardens, although Plinius already stated in its writings that this plant and trees would harm brick-work and under its sheets queues felt domestic. Already in the antique one one knew sorts, whose knows sheets or were yellow panaschiert.

For Germany its gardening use leaves itself for the first time for the center 16. Century occupy. The physician and natural scientist Konrad Gessner, which put on a listing of the garden plants of Germany, ranked the ivy 1561 among the garden plants. Garden books, those toward end 17. Century were published, called also for the first time since the antique one again sorts with panaschierten sheets. The gardens of the baroque and the Renaissance offered little area for the rampantly growing ivy however. The ivy than garden plant became more popular only, than in the second half 18. Century increasingly the spacious landscape parks in mode came. With the increasing popularity of the ivy also the number of sorts increased. 1872 a ivy Monographie published in Great Britain von Shirley Hibberd listed already more than 200 sorts.

Ivy sorts

From the ivy today about 400 sorts with a large range at Blattformen exist and - to colors. They are increased usually vegativ with Stecklingen. A selection:

• Hedera helix "“Atropupurea"” has violettfarbene sheets and becomes meters high up to 8
• H.h. "“Buttercup"” is characterised by bright yellow sheets, which exhibit only occasionally still green marks. This sort grows only up to a height of 2 meters.
• Only the height of up to a meter growing H.h. "“Goldchild"” has sheets, which have a gold-yellow edge.
• Likewise only the H.h becoming highly up to a meter. "“Ivalace"” has shining dark-green sheets with clearly brighter veins.

Some forms are winter hard in far parts of Europe, other forms only in the warmer situations; some as house plants are used.

Ivy in the symbolism

Marianne Beuchert reports that the first Christians the deceased on ivy, who did not put Bekehrten on Zypressen. Who is baptized in Christo, that is unsterblich, the Ungetauften however is without hope for Auferstehung, equal which Zypressen, which please once, never more regenerate. If today burial places are bepflanzt frequently with ivy, then is a usually unconscious use of the symbol of the eternal life. As in the life in death stands in such a way as foreign exchange on some old efeuumschlungenen gravestone.

Since the ivy cannot exist, without matching the contour, it is since age also symbol of the friendship and loyalty. As evergreen plant already in the antiquity symbol of the loyalty and the eternal life. In the old Greece a Brautpaar received a branch of ivy as symbol of always-lasting loyalty.

Since ivy was assigned both in the old persons Egypt and Rome and Greece to the Gods of the Weines, it applied also as for symbol of the amusement, sociability and the friendship.

Ivy in the superstition and in the customs

In Westphalia 4 brought to. Chamfering Sunday girl the neighbour of ivy rings, which were hung up over the stove, in order to bring so spring in the house. As Orakelpflanze ivy is to have been used on 24 February - Matthias -. At night the girls danced with torch/flare light and threw the ivy and straw rings in the water. Behind their back they had to try to seize a wreath/ring. The ivy ring meant luck in the love, it should still in the same year wedding be. The straw ring indicated against it misfortune. Likewise with ivy sheets at the Andreas night one georakelt. One threw two ivy sheets into a bowl with water, so that they swam on the surface. If the sheets were together-driven on the next morning, then there should be wedding still in this year. If they floated separately from each other, then one had to wait still longer.

Ivy in the art

As reference to faithful solidarity and eternal life the particularly frequent representation is to be understood about ivy sheets on earlyChristian Sarkophagen and Katakombenfresken. The ivy means that the soul lives, even if the body is dead. Already in Greece ivy is to have been presented due to this symbol content to the wedding.

Articles in category "Ivy"

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