TEHRAN – Persian ivy, a climbing and trailing plant native to Iran’s northern seashores, is on the verge of extinction.

Due to the construction works at the coasts of the Caspian Sea that has resulted in the systematic destruction of the seashores as well as the sea water advancements in the recent years, the endangered evergreen plant is on the brink of extinction, the Persian service of IRNA quoted Tayyebeh Amini, an expert in the field, as saying on Sunday.

Persian ivy (Hedera colchica), has oval to heart-shaped leaves, 3 to 7 inches wide and to 10 inches long (largest leaves of all ivies). The plant climbs almost any vertical surface with aerial rootlets (small roots along the stem).

Persian ivy could still be seen in the northern parts of the nation in particular in the eastern sides of Iran’s Caspian Sea port city of Bandar Anzali and other littoral cities including Chaboksar, Ramsar, Tonekabon and Noshahr. The plant is more cold hardy.