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Clematis ligusticifolia
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Virgin's Bower
( Clematis ligusticifolia )
Clematis ligusticifolia
More Photos at CalPhotos
More Info at Jepson eFlora
Calflora
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52 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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About Virgin's Bower (Clematis ligusticifolia)
52 Nurseries Carry This Plant
Add to My Plant List
Clematis ligusticifolia
is a climbing, spreading vine with showy flowers. It is also known as Old-man's Beard and Yerba de Chiva, and Virgin's bower (though this may also refer to C. lasiantha). It is native to North America and widespread across the western United States in streamside thickets, wooded hillsides, and coniferous forests up to 4,000 feet. It was called "pepper vine" by early travelers and pioneers of the American Old West. They used it as a pepper substitute to spice up food since real black pepper (Piper nigrum) was a costly and rarely obtainable spice. Like the rest of the Clematis genus, it contains essential oils and compounds which are extremely irritating to the skin and mucous membrames. Unlike Black Pepper or Capsicum, however, the compounds in clematis cause internal bleeding of the digestive tract if ingested internally in large amounts. The plants are essentially toxic. Despite its toxicity, Native Americans use very small amounts of clematis as an effective treatment for migraine headaches and nervous disorders. It is also used as an effective treatment of skin infections. A whole-plant hot water extraction can be used to treat eczema, and a leaf compress is used to treat chest pain, sores, and boils.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Vine, Perennial herb
Size
1 - 30 ft tall
2 - 6 in wide
Form
Climbing, Spreading
Growth Rate
Moderate
Dormancy
Summer Deciduous
Fragrance
Slight
Flower Color
White, Cream
Flowering Season
Summer
Wildlife Supported
Attracts bees and butterflies
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1
confirmed
, 8
likely
* )
SHOW ALL
Alcathoe verrugo
Alcathoe verrugo
*
Fatal Metalmark
Calephelis nemesis
Calephelis nemesis
*
Meske's Pero Moth
Pero meskaria
Pero meskaria
*
Fall Webworm
Hyphantria cunea
Hyphantria cunea
*
Omnivorous Looper
Sabulodes aegrotata
Sabulodes aegrotata
*
Tamarack Looper
Eupithecia misturata
Eupithecia misturata
*
Eupithecia maestosa
Eupithecia maestosa
Landscaping Information
Sun
Full Shade, Part Shade
Moisture
Low
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established
Nurseries
Carried by 52
Ease of Care
Very Easy
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to -20 - -10° F
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow
Soil Description
Tolerant of sand and clay. Tolerates Serpentine Soil. Soil PH: 5 - 8
Common uses
Deer Resistant
Companion Plants
This plant is often found climbing up through larger shrubs such as Birch (
Betula species
),
Ceanothus species
, Dogwood (
Cornus species
), Coffeeberry (Frangulas species), Ninebark (
Physocarpus capitatus
), Wild
Rose
(
Rosa species
), and Western
Blueberry
(
Vaccinium uliginosum
ssp. occidentale)
Sunset Zones
?
1*, 2*, 3*, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22*, 23*, 24*
Natural Setting
Site Type
Stream Edges, wet places
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 4.1" - 89.4", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 4.07", Coldest Month: 9.1" - 56.5", Hottest Month: 32.8" - 84.1", Humidity: 0.09" - 38.61", Elevation: -7" - 14019"
Alternative Names
Botanical Names
: Clematis ligusticifolia var. ligusticifolia,Clematis ligusticifolia var. brevifolia,Clematis ligusticifolia var. californica
Common Names
: Creek Clematis, Old-man's Beard, Western Virgin's Bower, Western White Clematis, Yerba De Chiva
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Virgin's Bower
Clematis ligusticifolia
Sources include:
Wikipedia
. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the
California Consortia of Herbaria
, Sunset information provided by
Jepson Flora Project
. Propogation from seed information provided by the
Santa Barbara Botanical Garden
from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include
CalPhotos
,
Wikimedia Commons
, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include
Calflora
,
CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online
,
Jepson Flora Project
,
Las Pilitas
,
Theodore Payne
,
Tree of Life
,
The Xerces Society
, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from
PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University
, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.
Links:
Jepson eFlora Taxon Page
CalPhotos
Wikipedia
Calflora
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