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Kline, Kimberly

Clematis drummondii

Clematis drummondii Torr. & A. Gray

Old Man's Beard, Drummond's Clematis, Texas Virgin's Bower, Goat's Beard

Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: cldr

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

This is a climbing vine that covers fences and shrubs. Leaves are opposite and compound, with 5-7 leaflets 1/2-1 inch long, coarsely cut, sometimes toothed. The 4 petal-like sepals are light greenish-yellow, almost white, narrow and thin, with margins slightly crinkled, 1/2-1 inch long. There are no petals. The stamens are quite conspicuous. When the seeds mature, the female vine is covered with great masses of silky, feathery plumes, 2-4 inches long, which grow out from the seed cover. Male and female flowers on different plants.

The species name of this plant is named for Thomas Drummond, (ca. 1790-1835), naturalist, born in Scotland, around 1790. In 1830 he made a trip to America to collect specimens from the western and southern United States. In March, 1833, he arrived at Velasco, Texas to begin his collecting work in that area. He spent twenty-one months working the area between Galveston Island and the Edwards Plateau, especially along the Brazos, Colorado, and Guadalupe rivers. His collections were the first made in Texas that were extensively distributed among the museums and scientific institutions of the world. He collected 750 species of plants and 150 specimens of birds. Drummond had hoped to make a complete botanical survey of Texas, but he died in Havana, Cuba, in 1835, while making a collecting tour of that island.

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Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)

Fatal Metalmark (Calephelis nemesis) Larval Host Learn more at BAMONA