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Virgin's Bower
Clematis ligusticifolia
  
52 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Virgin's Bower (Clematis ligusticifolia) 52 Nurseries Carry This Plant 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
Plant Type
Vine, Perennial herb

Size
Size
1 - 30 ft tall
2 - 6 in wide

Form
Form
Climbing, Spreading

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate

Dormancy
Dormancy
Summer Deciduous

Fragrance
Fragrance
Slight

Flower Color
Flower Color
White, Cream

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Summer

Wildlife Supported
 
Attracts bees and butterflies

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed , 8 likely * ) SHOW ALL
Alcathoe verrugo Image
Alcathoe verrugoAlcathoe verrugo
*
Calephelis nemesis Image
Fatal Metalmark Calephelis nemesisCalephelis nemesis
*
Pero meskaria Image
Meske's Pero Moth Pero meskariaPero meskaria
*
Hyphantria cunea Image
Fall Webworm Hyphantria cuneaHyphantria cunea
*
Sabulodes aegrotata Image
Omnivorous Looper Sabulodes aegrotataSabulodes aegrotata
*
Eupithecia misturata Image
Tamarack Looper Eupithecia misturataEupithecia misturata
*
Eupithecia maestosa Image
Eupithecia maestosaEupithecia maestosa

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Shade, Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 52

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to -20 - -10° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
Tolerant of sand and clay. Tolerates Serpentine Soil. Soil PH: 5 - 8

Common uses
Common uses
Deer Resistant

Companion Plants
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
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
Site Type
Stream Edges, wet places

Climate
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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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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