User:Monsteramom/Hedera cypria

Monsteramom/Hedera cypria

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Hedera cypria, is a species of Ivy (genus Hedera) which is endemic to the island of Cyprus. '''The species is a climbing It is natively found in higher altitudes in Cyprus. H. cypria has unique trichomes and fruits to separate it from closely related plants.'''

Etymology
The origin of the genus name, hedera, comes from the latin word for ivy. Cypria, meaning from cyprus, was chosen to reflect the endemic area of the species origin.

Growth Pattern
Hedera Cypria is an evergreen climbing plant, growing slowly to 20–30 m high where suitable surfaces are available, and also growing as ground cover where there are no vertical surfaces. It climbs by means of aerial rootlets which cling to the substrate. '''The plant is commonly found in altitudes of 400 to 500m, often in shaded areas that provide a rocky surface and a nearby source of water. '''

Physical Characteristics
Hedera cypria does not resemble any other ivy into such a unique white patterns, conspicuous grey veining, red stemmed. It is also the only of its relatives to have trichomes present only on the abaxial surface (or under side) of its leaves. The trichomes found on hedera cypria are red and scale-like. It is an attractive robust plant, growing slowly. It has alternate and small to medium ovate leaves, with a long petiole; there are two types of leaves, palmately five-lobed juvenile leaves on creeping and climbing stems, and unlobed lauroid adult leaves on fertile flowering stems. In this species, the juvenile leaves are almost unlobed with an isosceles triangle shape, and the green leave is blotched with a grid of leaf-nerves greenish-yellow to grey. The middle lobe on Hedera cypria leaves is twice the length of surrounding lobes, where as closely related species have smaller middle lobe ratios. 'Genetically, Hedera cypria'' is hexaploid. Its most closely related species genetically, H. helix 5, is diploid'''.

Fruit
In its natural habitat, Hedera cypria can be distinguished easily from Hedera helix subsp. poetarum, also present, because the latter has yellow fruits, while Hedera cypria is always black-fruited.

Invasivity
'''Ivy is considered invasive when it exploits a host by inhibiting the growth of the plant it is climbing, due to interrupting photosynthesis by blocking sunlight or weighing down and damaging the host plant with weight. Trees are mostly affected by invasive ivy. Where Hedera cypria is found in North America, on the East and West coasts, it is not considered invasive. Its closely related relatives, Hedera hibernica (a subspecies of hedera helix), is considered invasive in those areas. Both types of invasive H. helix subspecies hibernica are found to be diploid with stellate trichomes, compared to the hexaploid scale-like trichomes of Hedera cypria.'''