Plant name please.

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Bcrazy

Drone Bee
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Hi all,

I am having problems trying to find the name of the plant in the picture.

Can anyone help please?

Regards;
 
ive seen that plant before at a hotel i worked in a long time ago. It was smothered in bees.
As to what it is i'm sorry i cant help.
 
Yep common Ivy and does'nt come into flower until late in the year before winter. Probably last plant before winter.

Busy Bee
 
Is it common ivy? Ivy yes, but look at the shape of the leaves???
 
Ivy yes, but look at the shape of the leaves???

Yes I think its Ivy but the leaves are telling me different.

Regards;
 
Atlantic or Irish ivy, Hedera hibernica. Some call it a subspecies of Hedera helix, but they have different chromosome numbers are so will not interbreed easily, therefore separate species is best.

This is the one that prefers warmer spots such as rocks and cliffs, and is less likely to be found on trees in the colder parts of the country. Last autumn I compared the two types (the other is Common Ivy or Hedera helix) and the one in the picture produces more nectar and is probably the one most folk get their autumn ivy honey from.

The leaves differ between the sterile rambling shoots and the flowering growth. This one has broader leaves of both kinds than the other species.

To be sure of the identification looking at the leaf hairs is the way to go for which you really need a microscope. Mo: the hairs have multiple branches. H. helix has them pointing all ways, pin cushion-like. H. hibernica has the branches in one plane all lying flat on the surface of the leaf, like a brittle star if you know what I mean.

Too much information, eh?! :rolleyes:

all the best

Gavin

PS

And the bee?! A. mellifera ligustica I think.
 
Last edited:
If you are going to look for the hairs Mo, pick a small expanding leaf of the wandering typical ivy-leaf kind as they shed their hairs as they age (yes, like the top of my head ... ).

There is a picture in the Microscopy Forum of the other place on 6 Dec last year.

G.
 
Gavin,

I had forgotten that you are an expert in pollen and therefore would know a good deal of information regarding plants.

That information I will now store in 'file 13' as I need to remember things like this for later on.

Thanks Gavin for an informative answer.

Regards;
 
Exactly. I just had to make it complex though ....

G.
 

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