Clematis vitalba
NPPA pest plant
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
old man’s beard
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Lianes & Related Trailing Plants - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
Cream, White
Detailed description
Deciduous, climbing, layering, vine to 20 m tall. Stems very long, woody, with 6 prominent ribs (appear as furrows in older vines) and pale, easily rubbed-off bark. Leaves opposite, comprising 5 (rarely 3) widely spaced leaflets, falling in Autumn. Leaflets thin and papery, sparsely hairy, bluntly toothed or entire. Flowers 2-3 cm diam, creamy white, fragrant, Dec-May. Seeds grey, hairy, 2-3 mm long; with distinctive white-plumes, 3-4 cm long, in dense, fluffy clusters persisting over winter.
Similar taxa
Sometimes confused with native Clematis spp, especially C. paniculata. Note all native Clematis spp. are evergreen, have 3 leaflets (except the leafless C. afoliata), unfurrowed stems, and flower Aug-Dec. All exotic, wild species are deciduous and flower Dec-May (except the sparingly weedy, pink-flowered C. montana which flowers Oct- Dec). Other adventive species include C. flammula, which has 2-pinnate leaves, and the yellow flowered C. tangutica.
Habitat
Terrestrial. A plant of coastal and lowland areas. Plant grows in moderate to high fertile sites with medium to good drainage. The plant is light demanding. Plant grows in tall forest, low forest, scrub and shrubland. Occurs in reserves and forests with well-lit forest margins and wide tracks, waterways or clearings, riparian vegetation, exotic or native. The plant occurs in forest remnants.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Ecology
Flowering
December, January, February, March, April, May
Fruiting
March-Oct
Year naturalised
1940
Origin
Europe, SW Asia
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Tolerances
Requires light for growth and sexual reproduction. Frost tolerant and resprouts rapidly after physical damage and grazing. May prefer relatively fertile soils. Is generally limited by cooler temperatures of higher elevation areas, low annual rainfall, low soil fertility and shade.
Control techniques
Technique 1 Biological control agents may be suitable to control the weed, especially if it is common but this is unlikely to eradicate the species and other techniques below will be needed. Contact your regional council for more information about whether biological control is an option for you.
Technique 2 Slash thick stems (all year round) at 1 m and ground level. This is to prevent stump resprouting and aerial roots attaching from hanging stems. Paint all cut stumps with glyphosate (250ml/L) or metsulfuron-methyl 600g/kg (5g /L) or Tordon Brushkiller (100ml/L) or triclopyr 600 EC (100ml/L) or triclopyr 120g/L (500ml/L) or Banvine (200ml/L) or Yates Woody Weedkiller (400ml/L) or picloram gel. Cut stems can be left in the air to die and you can dispose of cutaway segments at a refuse transfer station or by burning.
Technique 3 Spray in spring-autumn with glyphosate (20ml/L) or clopyralid (12.5ml/L).
Life cycle and dispersal
Perennial. Seed germinates in spring with adequate light. Seeds require pre-chilling to stimulate germination (West 1991). The plant reproduces vegetatively by means of rooting of stem fragments and attached stem. Roots arise from stem internodes rather than nodes (West 1991). Vines that touch the ground can root. Produces prolific amounts of seed. Massive seed production, initially with a high viability rate that rapidly declines, some seed is retained in the soil for up to 5 years. An estimated 17,650 viable seeds are produced for every 0.5 m sq. plant in the canopy (West 1991).
Seeds are dispersed by gravity, wind and water, humans, birds (incorporated into nests, etc) believed to spread on footwear. Style hairs assist dispersal by helping fruit detach from parent plant and enable the fruit to lodge into cracks in the soil.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
clematis: From the Greek klema ‘vine’, alluding to the vine-like habit of many species
vitalba: From the Latin vitis ‘vine’ and album ‘white’
National Pest Plant Accord species
This plant is listed in the 2020 National Pest Plant Accord. The National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA) is an agreement to prevent the sale and/or distribution of specified pest plants where either formal or casual horticultural trade is the most significant way of spreading the plant in New Zealand. For up to date information and an electronic copy of the 2020 Pest Plant Accord manual (including plant information and images) visit the MPI website.
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
CLEVIT
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
West, C. 1991. Literature Review of the Biology of Clematis Vitalba (old Man’s Beard). Issue 725 of DSIR Land Resources vegetation report, Christchurch