found in all regions

The question came up: why did I wait until I visited Texas to profile cockroaches? Because, there really isn't any rhyme or reason behind the 365 urban species project: it's a challenge to myself, to profile them as I encounter them, not, unfortunately, when I want to. So I didn't get any pictures of cockroaches until I visited Texas this year. If I was still living in one of my filthy apartments that I lived in a decade ago, in Allston, Brighton, East Boston, or other places, I would have profiled cockroaches in January. But anyway, I finally saw my first Boston cockroaches of 2006, in the subway.
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365 urban species. #274: Boston Ivy

Photos by cottonmanifesto. Location: the Winsor School, Boston.

Urban species #274: Boston ivy Parthenocissus tricuspidata

There are many buildings in Boston (and across the river, Cambridge) that are ivy covered, some of them famously. For a while now I have suspected that much of it is not "true" ivy (Helix spp., to be dealt with in a future post) but some other plant. My main pieces of evidence included the fact that the Boston ivy's leaves change colors in fall, and drop before winter. True ivy is evergreen. Also, I read the assertion that true ivy (a European native) feeds no birds with its fruit. Boston ivy used to cover the building I live in, and I would watch mockingbirds perch on my windowsill and eat its blue berries. As I finally learned today, the Boston ivy is in fact, a plant called "Boston ivy."

It is a relative of grape and Virginia creeper, and also goes by the common name "Japanese creeper." This name may be more appropriate, since Boston ivy is actually native to Asia. The plant does have a genuine connection to my city, however, as one of the varieties discovered and cultivated at the Arnold Arboretum goes by the name "Fenway Park." Chicago's baseball park, Wrigley Field, also has Boston ivy growing on its walls. In fact, the main use of this plant is to cover masonry on large buildings like stadiums and schools, and in at least one case, a parking garage. I'll leave it to readers in New Haven, Providence, Ithaca, Hanover, Philadelphia, and Princeton to check to see if the rest of the League is covered by ivy, or Boston ivy.

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Thanks to interfecta from the urban_nature community for the identification!