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

Description

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

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

s, deciduous leaves, and scented greeny-white flowers with fluffy underlying sepals. The many fruits formed in each inflorescence 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 larvae of a wide range of moths. This includes many species which are reliant on it as their sole foodplant; including

small emerald ''Hemistola chrysoprasaria'', the small emerald, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species can be found in all Europe including the Iberian Peninsula and Russia East to the Ural Mountains, North Africa, Asia Minor, Transcaucasia and the mo ...

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 f ...

and

Haworth's pug ''Eupithecia haworthiata'', or Haworth's pug, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was Species description, first described by Henry Doubleday (entomologist), Henry Doubleday in 1856. It can be found in western, south and central Europ ...

Range

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

United Kingdom

In the UK it is a native plant and is common throughout England south of a line from the River Mersey and the River Humber. 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, 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 it is declared an "unwanted organism" and is listed in the National Pest Plant Accord. 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 species was introduced as an ornamental plant in the Pacific Northwest 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 *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 regions ** Distribution: Holarctic

Diseases

''C. vitalba'' suffers from '' tomato spotted wilt virus''.

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, the sprouts are harvested to make omelettes (called "vitalbini" in Tuscany, "visoni" in Veneto).

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