old man's beard

Old Man’s Beard – Plant

LATIN NAME
Clematis drummondii

LONGEVITY
Perennial

SEASON
Warm

ORIGIN
Native

DETAILS:

  • Other common names include, “Texas virgin’s bower,” “Goatbeard,” “Grandad beard,” “Drummond clematis,” and “Love-in-the-mist,” to mention a few.
  • This vine has slender, woody stems with twining petioles.
  • Found growing on fence-lines and over shrubs and rocks on well-drained soils.
  • It is a dioeceous plant, with male and female flowers on separate plants.
  • The flowers on both are inconspicuous, appearing in the spring and summer, but on the females they are followed by extremely showy fruits with 3 inch-long silvery tails from August to October.
  • The long silvery tails resemble an “Old man’s beard,” thus the name reference.
  • This plant is cold hardy into the teens, but will grow from the roots the next spring.
  • It can tolerate moisture as well as drought. Once established, it is almost impossible to eliminate.

QUALITY TRAITS