About Hedera azorica Carrière
Hedera azorica, commonly called the Azores ivy, is a species of ivy in the genus Hedera that is endemic to the Azores Islands. It is an evergreen woody climbing plant, growing 20–30 meters high when suitable vertical surfaces are available, and growing as ground cover when no vertical surfaces are present. It climbs using aerial rootlets that cling to its substrate. The Azores ivy has an attractive, elegant appearance and is quite common across the Azores, with noticeable morphological differences between populations on different islands. It is particularly abundant on the rocky slopes of Lagoa do Fogo on São Miguel island. This species can be found growing on slopes, rock, soil, and tree trunks, especially in laurel forest. Its natural habitat is forests or dense shrubs that are cloud-covered for most of the year. Its stems are green, and it bears large alternate leaves that occur in two forms: palmately 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 on the tops of rock faces. Its flowers grow in small, tight, erect umbels with a long peduncle. Ripe fruits are small, globular, and black. Hedera azorica has been cultivated in gardens and used in floral arrangements.
