''Hedera nepalensis'' (Himalayan ivy, chang chun teng) is a species of perennial

Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

(genus ''

Hedera ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

'') native to

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

and

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

, as well as

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Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

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Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

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, and

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, at altitudes of about 1000–3000 m. Plants grow up to 30 m in height, with simple leaves ranging from 2–15 cm long, and yellow flowers.

Morphology

Stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

: creeping or climbing to a height of 30 m with adventitious roots. Evergreen

foliage A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

, dark green, glossy, lighter underneath, glabrous, leathery, lanceolate, oval, to klapowanych (flaps odd, usually 3, triangular), u heart-shaped base of the wedge, the top slightly pointed or blunt.

Flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s: bisexual, small, 5-fold, meeting within the fond ovate

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s. Flower stalks (length 7–12 mm) and Flowering hairy. Chalice entire edges, retained. Petals yellow crown. Stamens 5, anthers 1–2 mm long. Pillar short neck, single,

Fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a

drupes In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

, flattened, 5–7 mm long, 5–10 mm wide, with orange to red.

Ecology

The plant blooms from October to April. Plant toxic, all parts are poisonous because they contain

saponin Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed ...

s (e.g. hederynę), which are irritating to the skin, and

conjunctiva The conjunctiva is a thin mucous membrane that lines the inside of the eyelids and covers the sclera (the white of the eye). It is composed of non-keratinized, stratified squamous epithelium with goblet cells, stratified columnar epithelium ...

of eyes, and after ingestion induce gastrointestinal nervous system, disturbances. Can occur

hemolysis Hemolysis or haemolysis (), also known by several other names, is the rupturing (lysis) of red blood cells (erythrocytes) and the release of their contents (cytoplasm) into surrounding fluid (e.g. blood plasma). Hemolysis may occur in vivo o ...

and

erythrocyte Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek ''erythros'' for "red" and ''kytos'' for "holl ...

s. It occurs mostly in moist soil in shade, at the height of 1000–3000 m as climbs over rocks and tree trunks by adventitious roots, rarely used as a

ground cover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought. In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as t ...

or decorative climber in gardens and parks. Resistance to frost apparently large (up to 8 zones USDA). There are two varieties or subspecies: *''Hedera nepalensis var. nepalensis'' *'Hedera nepalensis K. Koch var. Sinensis'' (Tobler) Rehder - occurs in the

Synonyms

* ''Hedera cinerea'' * ''Hedera himalaica'' * ''Hedera helix'' var. ''chrysocarpa'' * ''Hedera helix'' var. ''cinerea'' * ''Hedera helix'' var. ''himalaica''

References

eFloras entry
* Hort. dendrol. 284, t. 75. 1854. * Ackerfield, J. 2001. Trichome morphology in Hedera (Araliaceae). Edinburgh J. Bot. 58:259–267. * Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959–. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae. * Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage. * Hara, H. et al. 1978–1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal. * Lawrence, G. H. M. & A. E. Schulze. 1942. The cultivated Hederas. Gentes Herb. 6:107–173. * Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. * Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970–. Flora of estPakistan. nepalensis Plants described in 1853 {{Araliaceae-stub