Traveller's-joy - Clematis vitalba

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Traveller's-joy - Clematis vitalba
© Dr Chris Gibson/English Nature

This wild clematis is a beautiful plant with masses of creamy-white flowers followed by the much more prominent feathery seed heads, which have given it one of its many other names: old man's beard. These last through much of the winter, festooning otherwise bare wayside hedges. Perhaps this is why the plant is also known as traveller's joy.

This is a woody perennial climbing plant with peeling fibrous bark. Like some cultivated varieties of clematis, it is very vigorous but easily controlled by pruning.

The seeds are eaten by many birds and the scented flowers are a good nectar source for night-flying moths, as well as day-flying hoverflies and bees.

Animals

Bees and wasps, Flies, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Swallowtailed moth

Foliage	Green
Flower	White, July to August
Moisture	(Dry)
Sunlight	(Full sun to Part-shade)
Origin	Native