The common ivy of Europe (Hedera helix) is a woody climbing or scrambling plant with glossy evergreen leaves having three to five lobes. It climbs by means of numerous short roots growing from the stems that cling to trees, rocks and other objects. As the plant climbs it produces bushy flowering stems. These have no aerial roots and the leaves have fewer lobes than the leaves produced lower down. The greatest difference is in the leaves nearest the tips of the flowering shoots which are typically unlobed and often ovate or rhomboidal in shape. Small rounded clusters (umbels) of stalked greenish -yellow flowers are produced in autumn, the fruits (berries) ripening to a dull black in spring. Ivy berries are inedible, bitter and mildly toxic to humans.
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