The Araliaceae form a cosmopolitan family which is distributed throughout
the world with the exception of North Africa, the Middle East and large parts
of the U.S.S.R. It comprises 70 genera with ca. 700 species. The only representative
in Western Europe is Hedera helix L., a member of a genus with
five other species in other parts of the world.
Hedera helix is common throughout Western Europe on a wide range of
soils although it avoids extremes of acidity, drought and waterlogging. In
Scandinavia it extends to about 60°N on the west coast of Norway and has a
strongly coastal emphasis in its distribution. It does not extend into the continental
mainland east of the Baltic and north of the Black Sea. It is regarded
by Hultén as sub-Atlantic, but by Troll as eu-Atlantic. It not
only grows under wild conditions, but is also widely cultivated.
Pollen of Hedera helix is regularly found in deposits of Atlantic and Subboreal
age. It is significant for Quaternary palynologists as an indicator of
comparatively high winter temperatures
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