Mr. Gilbert Burnett thus beautifully illustrates the transitorial
metamorphosis of ivy:--
"The ivy, in its infant or very young state, has stalks trailing upon the
ground, and protruding rootlets throughout their whole extent; its leaves
are spear-shaped, and it bears neither flower nor fruit; this is termed
_ivy creeping on the ground_. The same plant, when more advanced, quits
the ground, and climbs on walls and trees, its rootlets becoming holdfasts
only; its leaves are generally three or five lobed, and it is still barren;
this is the _greater barren ivy_. In its next, or more mature state, it
disdains all props, and rising by its own strength above the walls on
which it grew, occasionally puts on the appearance of a tree; in this the
flower of its age, the branches are smooth, devoid of radicles and
holdfasts; and it is loaded with blossoms and with fruit; the lobulations
of the leaves are likewise less; this is the _war-poet's ivy_. But when
old, the ivy again becomes barren, again the suckers appear upon the stem,
and the leaves are no longer lobed, but egg-shaped; this is the
_Bacchanalian ivy_."
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