Wildflowers of the United States

Virgin's Bower, Devil's Darning Needles, Old Man's Beard - Clematis virginiana

Family: Ranunculaceae - Buttercup family

Native Status: Native

Dicot Perennial Vine

Clematis virginiana - Virgin's Bower, Devil's Darning Needles, Old Man's Beard. There are over 30 Clematis species in the United States. There are some significant differences in the floral and vegetative attributes within the genus, and experts have divided it into four subgenera - some experts have classified subgenus Atragene instead as genus Atragene and subgenus Viticella as genus Viticella. The species presented here, Clematis virginiana, is part of subgenus Clematis, characterized by thin spreading sepals (rather than leathery ones found in the subgenus Viorna or bell-shaped perianths of subgenus Atragene.) The sepals of subg. Clematis are white or yellow, usually in many-flowered inflorescences.

Clematis virginiana has the widest distribution of the native species east of the Rocky Mountains, with Clematis ligusticifolia having that distinction in the west. These are similar species, and both are found in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma, with C. ligusticifolia being found westward from there and C. virginiana also in Texas and eastward from there.

Found in:
AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV

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Distribution of Clematis virginiana in the United States and Canada:

Map courtesy of The Biota of North America Program.
Map color key
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Site: Walker County, GA Date: 2013-August-13	Photographer: Gerald C. Williamson Nikon D7000 Tamron SP 90MM f/2.8 AF Macro
The flowers Clematis virginiana have four spreading white sepals each up to about a half-inch long. They have many pistils and stamens - or staminodes in the pistillate flowers, since the flowers are unisexual.

Site: Walker County, GA Date: 2013-August-13	Photographer: Gerald C Williamson Nikon D7000
There will be 3 to many flowers in each of the axillary inflorescences.
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Site: Walker County, GA Date: 2012-December-02	Photographer: Gerald C Williamson Nikon D7000
The white flowers are replaced by attractive brown feathery seedheads.
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Site: Walker County, GA Date: 2012-December-02	Photographer: Gerald C Williamson Nikon D7000
The blossoms and equally lovely seedheads may be found draped over fences, shrubs, and small trees, since the vine of Clematis virginiana grows up to 15 feet long.
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Site: Walker County, GA Date: 2013-July-30	Photographer: Gerald C Williamson Nikon D7000
The leaves of Clematis virginiana are opposite on long petioles. They are trifoliolate with toothed leaflets, key differentiators from the non-native invasive Clematis terniflora, which usually is 5-foliolate with entire leaflets. Both are vines, but Clematis terniflora has tendril-like petioles which wrap; Clematis virginiana may wrap the entire vine around what it is climbing on, but does not have the twisting petioles.
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References used for identification and information:

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Clematis virginiana initially published on USWildflowers.com 2013-08-20; Updated 2017-03-02

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All content except USDA Plants Database map Copyright Gerald C. Williamson 2024
Photographs Copyright owned by the named photographer

Code Update 20230302