Traveller's-joy
©Hermann Falkner
Species information
- Wildflowers
Conservation status
When to see, how to identify, distribution.
- Heathland and moorland
- Towns and gardens
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TRAVELLER'S JOY
Old man's beard, clematis vitalba, buttercup family [ranunculaceae].
TRAVELLER'S-JOY
Plant Detail Show Menu
Traveller's Joy Clematis
Other common name(s):.
- Leatherflower
- Leather Flower
- Old Man's Beard
- Virgin's Bower
Virgin’s bower is a woody, perennial, dense vine in the Ranunculaceae (buttercup) family with many species and cultivars, some of which are climbers and others are spreaders. Depending upon the support structure, they can get to be 6 to 18 feet long. Their native range is wide: North America, Europe, India, Australia, China, Japan, and New Zealand. Its name derives from the Greek word klēmatis, meaning brushwood or broken branches, perhaps owing to its fragile stems.
They prefer full sun, with afternoon shade in areas with hot summers. Shade the roots with mulch or a ground cover planting. Moist, well-drained soil with a neutral to slightly alkaline pH is recommended. Virgin’s bower is deep-rooted, so water thoroughly. Clematis is a heavy feeder; provide it with a low nitrogen, slow release fertilizer every 4 to 6 weeks throughout the growing season.
Pruning depends on whether they bloom on old wood or new wood. Stems are fragile and should be handled gently. The plants may be propagated by division, layering, or stem cutting.
Flowers can be 4 to 7 inches wide and attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds; other birds may nest in the vines. The plants are deer and rabbit resistant.
Use virgin’s bower in an Asian, butterfly, cottage, or pollinator garden. They are also suitable for containers, naturalized areas, vertical spaces, or woodlands.
Insects, Diseases and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems.
VIDEO Created by Elisabeth Meyer for " Annuals, Perennials, Vines, and Groundcovers " a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
- 'Blue explosion'
- 'Cezanne' Light blue petals with light yellow anthers
- 'Filigree'
- 'Fireworks'
- 'Guernsey Cream'
- 'Matka Urszula Ledochowska' Very large white flowers
- 'Rooguchi Sapphire' Indigo bus clematis - purple petals with white border
- Attributes: Genus: Clematis Family: Ranunculaceae Uses (Ethnobotany): Clematis species have been traditionally used in several cultures for their anti-inflammatory effects. Life Cycle: Perennial Woody Recommended Propagation Strategy: Division Layering Stem Cutting Country Or Region Of Origin: N. America, Europe, India, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand Distribution: temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere Wildlife Value: Clematis leaves are food for the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera species, including the willow beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria). Varieties attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, other birds may nest in the vines.
- Whole Plant Traits: Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial Native Plant Perennial Poisonous Vine Wildflower Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics: Broadleaf Evergreen Deciduous Habit/Form: Climbing Dense Spreading Growth Rate: Medium Maintenance: Medium Appendage: Tendrils
- Cultural Conditions: Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours) Soil Texture: High Organic Matter Soil pH: Alkaline (>8.0) Neutral (6.0-8.0) Soil Drainage: Good Drainage Moist Available Space To Plant: 12 inches-3 feet 3 feet-6 feet NC Region: Coastal Mountains Piedmont USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
- Fruit: Fruit Color: Brown/Copper Fruit Type: Achene Fruit Description: many small, dry fruits each with a silky-plumose tail
- Flowers: Flower Color: Blue Pink Purple/Lavender Red/Burgundy Variegated White Flower Inflorescence: Head Panicle Flower Value To Gardener: Fragrant Showy Flower Bloom Time: Fall Spring Summer Flower Shape: Cross Star Trumpet Flower Petals: 4-5 petals/rays 7 - 20 petals/rays Flower Description: flowers with 4-8 petal-like parts of various colors, many stamens
- Leaves: Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics: Broadleaf Evergreen Deciduous Leaf Color: Green Leaf Feel: Glossy Leathery Leaf Type: Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately) Leaf Arrangement: Alternate Opposite Leaf Shape: Cordate Deltoid Elliptical Lanceolate Leaf Margin: Entire Serrate Hairs Present: No Leaf Description: leaves alternate, pinnately divided
- Stem: Stem Is Aromatic: No
- Landscape: Landscape Location: Container Naturalized Area Vertical Spaces Woodland Landscape Theme: Asian Garden Butterfly Garden Cottage Garden Cutting Garden Native Garden Pollinator Garden Design Feature: Accent Screen/Privacy Specimen Attracts: Bees Butterflies Hummingbirds Resistance To Challenges: Black Walnut Deer Rabbits Problems: Contact Dermatitis Poisonous to Humans Problem for Cats Problem for Children Problem for Dogs Problem for Horses
- Poisonous to Humans: Poison Severity: High Poison Symptoms: Clematis can cause severe mouth pain and ulcers if eaten. Toxic to dogs, cats, horses. Clinical signs are salivation, vomiting, diarrhea. In humans, symptoms may include dizziness, confusion, fainting, and convulsions. Fatalities are rare, due to the rapid and intense bitter taste and mouth irritation from eating. Gastric lavage is recommended and anti-inflammatory to soothe irritated tissue. Contact dermatitis results in skin redness and burning sensation for some people, gardening gloves are recommended. Poison Toxic Principle: protoanemonin Causes Contact Dermatitis: Yes Poison Part: Leaves Sap/Juice
IMAGES
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COMMENTS
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.
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Traveller's Joy is considered an invasive weed where it has spread outside its native range. It can form dense thickets blanketing trees and shrubs. When: a perennial it flowers from July to September.
Traveller's-joy is a climbing plant that scrabbles over bushes in hedgerows, woodland rides and edges, and scrubby grassland on limestone soils. This wild clematis produces a mass of scented, white flowers in late summer and is pollinated by bees and hoverflies.
Traveller's-Joy is a woody climbing plant which not only spreads vertically and laterally up to 30 metres, but also by means of its plentiful mobile seeds attached to a feathery filament which travel on the wind.
Wildlife Value: Clematis leaves are food for the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera species, including the willow beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria). Varieties attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, other birds may nest in the vines. Whole Plant Traits: Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial. Native Plant.
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