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Plant
Facts
Ivy (Hedera)
Name - Hedera is the Latin name for ivy.
Origin - Europe,
also common in Asia
Trivia - Language of Flowers: Ivy for friendship
and fidelity in marriage.
Medicinal - In folk medicine the leaves
were boiled and used to treat corns.
History - During the German
occupation of the Channel Islands ivy berries were boiled and eaten for food.
The F&PA does not recommend this as ivy can be poisonous if eaten.
Mythical
- Considered a symbol of woman. If put together with Holly (the symbol of man)
at Christmas, it would bring peace in a home between a husband and wife, for the
following year. Ivy was also believed to be a sacred plant of the Greek god, Dionysos
(Latin name Bacchus), the god of wine.
