''Clematis aristata'', known as Australian clematis, wild clematis, goat's beard or old man's beard, is a climbing shrub of the family Ranunculaceae, found in eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in dry and wet forests of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. In spring to early summer it produces mass displays of attractive star-shaped flowers usually borne in short panicles with each flower up to 70 mm diameter and possessing four narrow white or cream

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s. Fertile male and female reproductive structures occur in flowers of separate plants (

dioecy Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

) making this species an obligate outcrosser with pollen movement among plants most likely facilitated by insects. Each seed head (or

infructescence Infructescence (fruiting head) is defined as the ensemble of fruits derived from the ovaries of an inflorescence. It usually retains the size and structure of the inflorescence. In some cases, infructescences are similar in appearance to simple fru ...

) on female plants consists of multiple

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 ...

s (an aeterio) with each seed bearing a plumose awn 2–4.5 cm long promoting dispersal by wind. The mature leaves are most commonly

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with leaflets up to 80 mm long and petioles that are able to twine around objects to provide climbing support. Juvenile leaves are simple, usually purplish-tinged with whitish streaks along the main veins. Several varieties have been previously described but are now not formally recognised. These included: :var. ''blanda'' - with small flowers and twice-divided leaflets which is found from Victoria to Tasmania :var. ''dennisae'' - with red filaments in the flowers and found in eastern Victoria :var. ''longiseta'' - with yellowish hairy flowers found in Queensland Cytological analysis has shown ''C. aristata'' to be diploid with a somatic chromosome number of 2''n''=16. These consist of five pairs of metacentric, one pair of subtelocentric, and two pairs of telocentric chromosomes with distal heterochromatic satellites.

Cultivation

''Clematis aristata'' is a popular hardy garden plant. It prefers a semi-shaded or shaded position and cool deep soils and will withstand heavy pruning. It is a vigorous climber and may become a problem by smothering other plants. Propagation can be carried out from fresh seed and from cuttings of semi-hardened stems.

References

aristata Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (Australia) {{Australia-eudicot-stub