''Clematis vitalba'' (also known as old man's beard and traveller's joy) is a shrub of the family

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...

Description

''Clematis vitalba'' is a climbing shrub with branched, grooved stems,

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

leaves, and scented greeny-white flowers with fluffy underlying

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s. The many fruits formed in each

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

have long silky appendages which, seen together, give the characteristic appearance of ''old man's beard''. The grooves along the stems of ''C. vitalba'' can easily be felt when handling the plant. This species is eaten by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of a wide range of

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s. This includes many species which are reliant on it as their sole foodplant; including small emerald,

small waved umber ''Horisme vitalbata'', the small waved umber, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It occurs in Europe. The wingspan is 30–35 mm. The length of the forewi ...

and Haworth's pug.

Range

''C. vitalba'' has a preference for base rich alkaline soils and moist climate with warm summers. The species is native to

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

United Kingdom

In the UK it is a native plant and is common throughout England south of a line from the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

and the

River Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the ...

. It also commonly occurs in southern, Eastern and northern Wales. Outside of these areas it is widely planted and occurs as far north as the southern highlands of Scotland.

As an invasive species

Due to its disseminatory reproductive system, vitality, and climbing behavior, ''Clematis vitalba'' is an invasive plant in many places. Some new tree plantations can be suffocated by a thick layer of ''Clematis vitalba'', if not checked. The species is capable of rapid growth, climbing several times faster than

English ivy English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

, and each plant may produce in excess of 100,000 seeds. The plant may also spread through stem and root fragmentation. ;New Zealand In

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

it is declared an "unwanted organism" and is listed in the

National Pest Plant Accord The National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA) is a New Zealand agreement that identifies pest plants that are prohibited from sale and commercial propagation and distribution. The Accord initially came into effect on 1 October 2001 between regional coun ...

. It cannot be sold, propagated or distributed. It is a potential threat to native plants since it grows vigorously and forms a canopy which smothers all other plants and has no natural controlling organisms in New Zealand. New Zealand native species of ''Clematis'' have smooth stems and can easily be differentiated from ''C. vitalba'' by touch. ;North America In the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, old man's beard is considered an invasive species. It is found in Washington, Oregon, California, and British Columbia. The species is also found in the eastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The species was introduced as an ornamental plant in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

sometime between 1950 and 1970.

Characteristics

*Reproductive organs: ** Inflorescence type: biparous cyme ** Sex:

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

** Type of pollination:

entomophilous Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, some ...

*Seed: ** Type of fruit:

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

** Dissemination: With the wind *Habitat and distribution: ** Type of habitat: Mid-European shrubberies, mountainsides, in moderately

eutrophic Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytoplan ...

regions ** Distribution:

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...

Diseases

''C. vitalba'' suffers from ''

tomato spotted wilt virus Transmission and lifespan TSWV, which is transmitted by thrips, causes serious losses in economically important crops and it is one of the most economically devastating plant viruses in the world. The circulative propagative transmission of T ...

''.

Use

''Clematis vitalba'' was used to make rope during the Stone Age in Switzerland. In Slovenia, the stems of the plant were used for weaving baskets for onions and also for binding crops. It was particularly useful for binding sheaves of grain because mice do not gnaw on it.Kržan, Vanja. 2010. "Mi pa oznanjamo Kristusa, križanega (1 Kor 1,23)." ''Zaveza'' 42 (25 February).
In

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, the sprouts are harvested to make omelettes (called "vitalbini" in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, "visoni" in

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

Gallery

Ranuncolaceae - Clematis vitalba-1.JPG, Ranuncolaceae - Clematis vitalba.JPG, Ranuncolaceae - Clematis vitalba-3.JPG, Clematis vitalba 002.JPG,

References

External links

Global Invasive Species Database
- ''Clematis vitalba''
Traveller's joy
at Bioimages.org
Traveller's joy by Regional Burgas Museum
''Clematis vitalba'' in Bulgaria {{Taxonbar, from=Q160100 vitalba Flora of Europe Flora of England Flora of the United Kingdom Medicinal plants of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus