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Latin name :
Hedera helix

Origin :
Common all over France, grows up to an altitude of 1000 metres in nearly all the temperate areas of Europe, Asia and northern Africa.

Description :
This sarmentose evergreen climbing shrub crawls on the ground, in undergrowth or climbs on walls and trees. It can live for several centuries. Its stems can be more than 50 metres long. Its leaves are hairless, tough, shiny, hardy and of triangular shape.

Properties :
It has very interesting regenerating properties.

History :
In the past, to recover from whooping cough, a child had to drink out of a beaker carved in a stem of ivy. The plant also made wreaths to get rid of headaches. At the beginning of the century, grandmothers used to soak their black wools in a concoction of ivy to brighten them up.