Clematis vitalba
Clematis vitalba (also known as Old man's beard and Traveller's Joy) is a shrub of the Ranunculaceae family.
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.
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