NYBG EcoQuest February 2018 – Week One
HUNT FOR HEDERA
February 1–7
Thank you @vilseskog for the link to this Washington Post article about English and Irish Ivy gone wild. Use a hand lens to see if you can identify the two forms described in the article. But be careful! English Ivy and its close relatives contain falcarinol, a compound that causes contact dermatitis. In a study of 127 Danish people, 7.9% were sensitive to falcarinol.
Observations: 115
Places: Manhattan, 87; Bronx, 23; Staten Island, 4.
Observers: @elizajsyh, 68; @dskacc, 16; @danielatha, 10; @Laura622, 7; @plnthunter22, 5.
Sign up here to receive email alerts of future EcoQuests.
Comments
Is it OK if we label observations "English Ivy", even though we are not sure which of the two species they are? At this time of year there are no young shoots to examine.
Update: This afternoon I made a bunch of observations of ivy in Carl Schurz Park, but I could not put them in this project because they were not "verifiable". Why is that?
Hi. I’m sorry you are having trouble uploading observations. The only rules for verifiable is that there must be a photo. Could that be the source of the problem?
Yes, please do use the best name you can for the plants. There is not consensus about the status of the name Hedera hibernica anyway, so unless you know for sure it is that taxon, its best to use Hedera helix.
Thank you for your contributions!
Ah... whatever that glitch was, it fixed itself. And yes I will just call them all Hedera helix. :)
Can you please give us the link to the Washington Post article about English and Irish ivy gone wild
The words "Washington Post article" in blue are the live link to the article. All you need to do is click on those words at the top of Daniel's message.
But if you want the URL itself, it is this:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/metro/urban-jungle/pages/130219.html
Add a Comment