Old-Man’s Beard

• Plant Type: Perennial, Deciduous Vine.
• Common Names: Old-Man’s Beard, Native White Clematis, Western White Clematis, Pepper vine, Hierba De Chivo.
• Color: Creamy-white
• Flower Dimensions: 1 inch in width.
• Blooming Seasons/ Month: Mid-spring to late summer (April-August).
• Desert with Old-Man’s Beard: Okanaga, Mojave and Sonoran.

Clematis ligusticifolia is woody or semi-woody climber from the Ranunculaceae family. This desert flowering plant can grow up to 20 feet or more.

• Clematis ligusticifolia is a widely-adaptable plant. This species is drought-tolerant and has excellent resistance to diseases.
• The Old Man’s Beard leaves are pinnately compound. The leaves consist of 5-7 leaflets.
• The plant has multiple stems that arise from a central clump. These stems can arise up to 15 meters in length.
• The inflorescence of the Old-Man’s Beard involves several- to many-flowered.
• The Old Man’s Beard flowers are broad clusters of blossoms from the upper portion of the plant’s leaf axils. The flowers are showy and fragrant.

• All parts of the plant can cause severe irritation^[1] in the mouth if eaten. In addition, the plant can cause irritation even if inhaled.
• In the past, the leaves of Clematisare thought to heal leprosy^[2]. In addition, the native North American Indian tribes used the plant to treat sores^[3].
• Clematis ligusticifolia is called the Old Man’s Beard because the plant has long feathery seed heads.
• The hollow stems of the Clematis plant were once used by young boys for smoking as a pastime. Clematis ligusticifolia is also called “Pepper vine” because the seeds and the leaves were used as a substitute for pepper.
• Clematis is a Greek word that means “several climbing plants, and ligusticifolia is a Latin word that means “Privet-like leaves”. The genus name was given by Linnaeus in 1753, and the species name was given by Thomas Nuttal in 1838.