BoyPete writes
'Mike' wrote:
"Paul O'Grady" wrote in message
o.uk...
Please identify this for me. It's very bushy and quite tall. It has a
black berry that wood pigeons were eating avidly which is what made
me notice it.
Thanks. Paul

http://www.unusual-gifts.pwp.blueyon...Photo-0015.jpg


Mike, I'm an ignorant B. But, ivy with a berry?? Just never seen it. Please
educate me. Ta

Yes, ivy has flowers and berries, which are a valuable food source for
birds in late winter when most of the other berries have gone.

Ivy seems to have two growth forms. Firstly it puts out long trailing
stems, which is what you see most of the time. Then, when it has come to
the top of whatever it is climbing and feels it can go no further, if
conditions are right for it, it produces rather more branching stems
which are covered in bunches of tiny flowers followed by berries which
eventually ripen black.

My parents' garden always had masses of ivy berries, so the concept was
very familiar to me. But since moving away from home and living in
different areas of the country, I've realised that finding ivy with
berries is relatively uncommon - especially as most of us are used to
ivy growing decoratively in gardens where it's kept in trim, and so is
always in its exploratory creeping phase.
--
Kay