365 urban species. #274: Boston Ivy

[urbpan]

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.



Parking garage on Brookline Ave, Boston.


Abandoned building, Jamaica Plain.



Thanks to interfecta from the urban_nature community for the identification!

Comments

[turil.livejournal.com]

That illustration you are using as your icon is by John Muth! From one of the Old Turtle books! Those are some beautiful books. Have you seen the Stone Soup, and Zen Shorts books by Muth too? I highly recommend them. My preschool students were fascinated by the Zen Shorts book, with it's gigantic Zen panda bear (in shorts, of course).