The leaves of Hedera canariensis are broad, 5 to 20 cm, glossy dark green in colour and a little leathery, with 1-5 lobes, regular in size and shape.

They are climbing plants with evergreen leaves that may grow from the bottom of the ravines and river canyons lining the entire surface of the wall or cliff.

European Ivy for example, is believed was spread by birds that helped to colonize large areas again where it had disappeared during the glaciations.

[citation needed] Ivy is a relict plant and one of the survivors of the laurel forest (laurisilva) flora in Europe that originally covered much of the Mediterranean Basin when the climate of the region was more humid in the Tertiary era.

[citation needed] The patterns of speciation in Hedera are the product of vicariance, resulting from the fragmentation of the geographical range of a common ancestor that was more widespread during the Tertiary.