The mass of an ivy vine can also cause damage. It can cover another plant entirely and keep it from getting enough sunlight to live, or it can make the other plant top-heavy and cause it to fall in a strong wind. I have wondered about this in terms of ivy growing on a building. How much weight does it add to the wall, and would it ever be enough to pull the wall down? Look at an ivy-covered wall. How much must all that vine weigh? Forestry workers pulling ivy off conifers say that it is not unusual for there to be over 2,000 lbs (907 kg) of ivy on a single tree.
![The quintessential ivy-covered cottage. How much weight must this add to the house? The roof could easily collapse. But there is no doubt that it looks great. david glass [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons](https://magazine.scienceconnected.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ivy-covered-cottage.jpg)
Reference
Lijin Xia, Scott C Lenaghan, Mingjun Zhang, Zhili Zhang and Quanshui Li (2010). Naturally occurring nanoparticles from English ivy: an alternative to metal-based nanoparticles for UV protection Journal of Nanobiotechnology DOI: 10.1186/1477-3155-8-12
A version of this article was originally posted on As Many Exceptions as Rules.
Mark is a science and history writer based in Indianapolis, IN. He is the author of more than fifty peer-reviewed scientific articles, two textbook chapters concerning molecular diagnostics in hematology, and several articles on local Indiana history. He has taught life sciences at the secondary, college, graduate, and postgraduate levels; authors a life sciences education blog, As Many Exceptions As Rules; and is cofounder of the pop culture science blog, The ‘Scope. His book on the research bringing Star Trek technologies to the real world will be published in mid-2016 by Springer Publishing.
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