Fruit of the Ivy - a photo on Flickriver

Fruit of the Ivy

            A section of the Grand Union Canal in Warwick (the industrial rather than the historic part) is lined by the usual scrubby hedgerow, which has become covered with the most extensive infestation of Ivy I think I have ever seen. Birds won't see it that way of course - for them this hedge will be an important food source. For me it was an opportunity to try out my 50mm F1.8/ Extension tube combination. Verdict - not easy to use when the wind blows your subject out of focus continually. Very shallow depth of field when using large aperture.

Wikipedia says this about Ivy:-

'Hedera helix is an evergreen climbing plant, growing to 20–30 m (66–98 ft) high where suitable surfaces (trees, cliffs, walls) are available, and also growing as groundcover where no vertical surfaces occur. It climbs by means of aerial rootlets with matted pads which cling strongly to the substrate. The ability to climb on surfaces varies with the plants variety and other factors: Hedera helix prefers non-reflective, darker and rough surfaces with near-neutral pH. It generally thrives in a wide range of soil-pH with 6.5 being ideal, prefers moist, shady locations and avoids exposure to direct sunlight, the latter promoting drying out in winter.

The leaves are alternate, 50–100 mm (2–4 in) long, with a 15–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) petiole; they are of two types, with palmately five-lobed juvenile leaves on creeping and climbing stems, and unlobed cordate adult leaves on fertile flowering stems exposed to full sun, usually high in the crowns of trees or the top of rock faces.

The flowers are produced from late summer until late autumn, individually small, in 3-to-5 cm-diameter (1.2-to-2.0 in) umbels, greenish-yellow, and very rich in nectar, an important late autumn food source for bees and other insects.

The fruit are purple-black to orange-yellow berries 6–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) in diameter, ripening in late winter, and are an important food for many birds, though somewhat poisonous to humans.

One to five seeds are in each berry, which are dispersed after being eaten by birds.'

Taken on: February 15, 2016

Tags:

Hedera

Helix

Grand

Union

Canal

Warwick

February

2016

Just

Walking « less

Sets appears in: • 2016 Walks • Extension Tube Photos more » • Mosaics, Collage and Montage « less

Groups appears in: • Walking In Nature • Warwickshire more » • Photo Mosaics • Warwick, UK • Making Mosaics • The World Up-Close (Nature Macro) • Macros Group • Plants That Look Out of This World !! • Birds flowers wild animals and insects (no group limit) « less

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