Clematis vitalba

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Ordo: Ranunculales

Familia: Ranunculaceae
Subfamilia: Ranunculoideae
Tribus: Anemoneae
Genus: Clematis
Subgenus: C. subg. Clematis
Sectio: C. sect. Clematis
Subsectio: C. subsect. Clematis
Series: C. ser. Clematis
Species: Clematis vitalba
Varietates: C. v. var. angustiloba – C. v. var. vitalba
Name

Clematis vitalba L., Sp. Pl. 1: 544 (1753).
Synonyms

Homotypic
Anemone vitalba (L.) E.H.L.Krause in Sturm, Deutschl. Fl., ed. 2 5: 303. 1901.
Clematis vitalba subsp. normalis Kuntze, Verh. Bot. Ver. Brand. 26: 101. 1885, nom. inadmiss.
Clematis vitalba α typica Beck, Fl. Nied. Osterr. 1：411. 1890, nom. inadmiss.
Clematitis vitalba (L.) Moench, Meth. : 296. 1794.

Hybrids

C. × fargesioides – C. × jouiniana – C. × stricta
Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe
Regional: Northern Europe
Denmark, Great Britain, Ireland, Norway, Sweden.
Regional: Middle Europe
Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic, Slovakia), Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland.
Regional: Southwestern Europe
Corse, France, Portugal, Sardegna, Spain.
Regional: Southeastern Europe
Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Romania, Sicilia (Malta, Sicily), Turkey-in-Europe, Yugoslavia (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia).
Regional: Eastern Europe
Baltic States (Estonia, Kaliningrad), Krym, Ukraine.
Continental: Africa
Regional: Northern Africa
Algeria, Morocco (doubtfully present).
Continental: Asia-Temperate
Regional: Middle Asia
Uzbekistan.
Regional: Caucasus
North Caucasus, Transcaucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Gruziya)
Regional: Western Asia
Afghanistan, Cyprus, East Aegean Islands (Lesvos), Iran, Lebanon-Syria (Lebanon, Syria), Turkey.
Continental: Asia-Tropical
Regional: Indo-China
Laos (given as native in POWO, not mentioned by Wang 2003, COL)
Continental: Australasia
Regional: Australia
South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria.
Regional: New Zealand
New Zealand North, New Zealand South.
Continental: Northern America
Regional: Western Canada
British Columbia.
Regional: Eastern Canada
Ontario.
Regional: Northwestern U.S.A.
Oregon, Washington.
Regional: Northeastern U.S.A.
Maine.
Continental: Southern America
Regional: Caribbean
Bermuda.
Note: Grey script indicates introduced occurrences.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 544. Reference page.

Additional references

Wang, W.T. 2003. A revision of Clematis sect. Clematis (Ranunculaceae). Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica 41(1): 1–62. PDF. Reference page.

Links

Hassler, M. 2021. Clematis vitalba. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 July 18. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Clematis vitalba in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 July 18. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Clematis vitalba. Published online. Accessed: 18 July 2021.
Euro+Med 2006 onwards: Clematis vitalba in Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Sep 4.

Vernacular names
Аҧсшәа: Алмышәӡахәа
aragonés: Betiquera
العربية: ظيان أبيض
azərbaycanca: Üzümyarpaq ağəsmə
Boarisch: Lüln
български: Обикновен повет
català: Vidalba
corsu: Vittichju
čeština: Plamének plotní
Cymraeg: Barf yr hen Ŵr
dansk: Almindelig Skovranke
Deutsch: Gewöhnliche Waldrebe
English: Traveller's-joy
español: Clemátide
eesti: Harilik elulõng
euskara: Aihenzuri
فارسی: کلماتیس سفید
suomi: Saksankärhö
français: Clématite des haies
Gaeilge: Gabhrán
galego: Herba doncela
hrvatski: Obična pavitina
hornjoserbsce: Lěsny pryšćenc
magyar: Erdei iszalag
հայերեն: Մամրիչ խաղողատերև
italiano: Vitalba
Limburgs: Rieraank
lombard: Idàsa
lietuvių: Gelsvoji raganė
latviešu: Vīnlapu mežvītenis
македонски: Павит
Nedersaksies: Wilde ranker
Nederlands: Bosrank
polski: Powojnik pnący
português: Cipó do reino
русский: Ломонос виноградолистный
slovenčina: Plamienok plotný
shqip: Kulpra
српски / srpski: Павит
svenska: Skogsklematis
українська: Ломиніс виткий
vèneto: Vixon
walon: Rampioûle ordinaire

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 stems, 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, small waved umber and Haworth's pug.
Range

C. vitalba has a preference for base rich alkaline soils and moist climate with warm summers.
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.[1]
Characteristics

Reproductive organs:
Inflorescence type: biparous cyme
Sex: hermaphrodite
Type of pollination: entomophilous
Seed:
Type of fruit: achene
Dissemination: With the wind
Habitat and distribution:
Type of habitat: Mid-European shrubberies, mountainsides, in moderately eutrophic regions
Distribution: Holarctic

Invasiveness

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.[2]

New Zealand

Main article: Old man's beard in 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.
Use

Clematis vitalba was used to make rope during the Stone Age in Switzerland.[3] In Slovenia, the stems of the plant were used for weaving baskets for onions and also for binding crops.[4] It was particularly useful for binding sheaves of grain because mice do not gnaw on it.[5] In Italy, the sprouts are harvested to make omelettes (called "vitalbini" in Tuscany, "visoni" in Veneto).
Gallery

Flowers
Close-up of a flower
Leaves
Fruits

References

New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora
Invasive Species Compendium. "Clematis vitalba". Retrieved 2017-05-24.
Johnson, Magnus. 2001. The genus Clematis. Södertälje: Magnus Johnsons Plantskola AB, p. 37.
Petauer, Tomaž. 1993. Leksikon rastlinskih bogastev. Ljubljana: Tehniška založba Slovenije, p. 139.
Kržan, Vanja. 2010. "Mi pa oznanjamo Kristusa, križanega (1 Kor 1,23)." Zaveza 42 (25 February). Archived 2012-06-29 at the Wayback Machine (in Slovene)