English Ivy vs. Irish Ivy: How to Tell Them Apart

A homeowner heard English ivy might actually be Irish ivy and asked for identification tips. The American Ivy Society president detailed differences: Irish ivy (Hedera hibernica) has larger, wider-than-long leaves with broad terminal lobes, shiny greenish veins, sweet odor, flat trichomes, and tetraploid chromosomes (96 vs. 48). English ivy (H. helix) has bristly trichomes, white veins, musty odor. Most "English ivy" in the Southeast is actually Irish ivy, which is more aggressive.

Quick Field ID:

• Leaf width > length = Irish.
• Veins greenish = Irish; white = English.
• Crush leaf: sweet = Irish; musty = English.
• Aggressive ground cover = likely Irish.

Control Irish ivy aggressively—it smothers native vegetation.