374 



THE MISTLETOE FAMILY. 



Common Ivy. Hedera Helix, Linn. (Fig. 450.) 



(Eng. Bat. 1. 1267. 



A woody, evergreen climber; when 

 wild the lower, slender branches spread 

 along the ground, with small leaves, 

 whilst the main stems climb up trees, 

 rocks, or buildings to a great height, 

 adhering by means of small, rootlike 

 excrescences. Leaves thick and shining, 

 ovate, angular, or 3- or 5-lobed ; those 

 of the barren stems usually much more 

 divided than the upper ones. Flowering 

 branches bushy, projecting a foot or two 

 from the climbing stems, each bearing a 

 short raceme or panicle of nearly glo- 

 bular umbels. Flowers of a yellowish 

 green. Border of the calyx entire, 

 scarcely prominent, about halfway up 

 the ovary. Petals 5, broad and short. 

 Stamens 5. Styles united into a single, 

 very short one. Berry smooth and 

 black, with from 2 to 5 seeds. 

 In woods, on rocks and old buildings, common in western and south- 

 ern Europe, northern Africa, and west- central Asia, scarcely penetra- 

 ting into central Europe, except where the winters are very mild. 

 Extends over the whole of Britain. Fl. late in autumn. Several 

 varieties are in cultivation, differing chiefly in the more or less di- 

 vided leaves, and one, with yellow berries, introduced from the Conti- 

 nent, has become almost wild in some parts of southern and western 

 England. 



Fig. 450. 



XXXIV. MISTLETOE FAMILY. LORANTHACE^. 



Shrubby or half-succulent evergreens, parasitic on the branches 

 of trees, with jointed branches, opposite thickish leaves, and no 

 stipules. Calyx combined with the ovary, either entirely so or 

 appearing only in the shape of an entire or toothed border round 

 its summit. Petals 4. Stamens 4, opposite the petals, and 

 usually inserted on them (or, in a few exotic species, the petals 



