Late Summer White Flowers of Virginia Woodbine (Clematis virginiana)

Summary: New World native vine Virginia woodbine (Clematis virginiana) forms suddenly conspicuous white-flowered garlands from late summer into autumn.

closeup of Virginia woodbine (Clematis virginiana) flowers: SB Johnny, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

New World native vine Virginia woodbine garlands the landscape of late summer with conspicuous, showy white flowers. The sudden appearance of four-petaled white flowers prettifies the vine's preferred habitats along riverbanks and moist roadsides.

The climber relies on twisting leafstalks for fearless and tenacious scalings of arboreal heights. Virginia woodbine's vines easily attain lengths of 10 to 20 feet (3.048 to 6.096 meters). The vine not only clambers up such vertiginous native trees as the Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) but also twines aesthetically along fences and up trellises.

Aggressive growth assures Virginia woodbine's spectacular visibility in the North American panorama east of the Rocky Mountains. Clematis virginiana claims native homelands in Canada that stretch across the easternmost prairie province, Manitoba, through Ontario and Quebec. Virginia woodbine extensively inhabits the United States' Lower 48, from the Great Plains eastward to the Atlantic seaboard.

Virginia woodbine's versatility accounts for the vine's nativity in a variety of homelands. Clematis virginiana thrives in differing light conditions by accepting a range running from full sunlight to partial shade to full shade. Virginia woodbine also tolerates various soil scenarios, including clay or sandy. The determined native vine overcomes both acidic and alkaline environments while also adjusting to extremes of dryness and moistness.

Virginia woodbine's native range: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Team, Public Domain, via USDA NRCS Plants Database

Clematis virginiana's most popular common name is Virginia woodbine. Other common names include devil's darning needles, old man's beard, traveler's joy and virgin's bower.

Virginia woodbine's bright green leaves trace elliptical or oval shapes. Leaf edges are outlined with sharp teeth.

The vine's clustering of three leaflets sometimes encourages a misidentification as poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). Casual inspection reveals, however, that Virginia woodbine's leaves are positioned oppositely on the vine, whereas poison ivy's leaves have alternate placements.

The vine's vivid greenness perfectly frames the small, white flowers that appear by the end of July or, at the latest, by the beginning of August. Male flowers are considered to display a showier whiteness than that of female flowers.

Virginia woodbine's diminutive flowers are borne in striking clusters that spill dramatically along the vine until September or October. The continual clouds of four-petaled flowers convey an impression that is reminiscent of stars splashing endlessly across the sky.

Plume-like seed heads each encapsulate one solitary seed. The seed heads are actually a type of simple dry fruit known as achenes (Ancient Greek ἀ- ‎"without" + χαίνω, khaínō, “to gape”). The common name of old man's beard recognizes the pillowing effect created by the feathery hairs that cover Virginia woodbine's dry fruits.

Ethnobotanical uses focus on medicinal remedies. The Cherokee, whose homelands are sited in the southeastern United States, recognize Virginia woodbine's analgesic, or painkiller, qualities in the treatment of backaches as well as kidney and stomach issues. The Cherokee also elevate the native plant to the status of ceremonial medicine through its inclusion in the Green Corn Ceremony associated with the annual corn harvest.

The Iroquois, a confederacy with homelands in northeastern North America, appreciate Virginia woodbine's treatment of kidney complaints and venereal sores. The Iroquois also mash and boil the plant's stems to prepare hallucinatory decoctions.

Virginia woodbine brightens the thickets of brambles, greenbrier (Smilax spp) and wineberries that frame my home's southeastern roadside banks. About half a mile farther north along the road, Virginia woodbine festoons the soft-needled branches of a stand of Eastern white pine trees.

Elsewhere, perhaps, Virginia woodbine may be considered as a rambunctious member of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). In my landscape, however, Virginia woodbine displays judicious growth habits, especially in tandem with Eastern white pines.

Virginia woodbine decorously defines the landscape of late summer and early autumn.

Virginia woodbine's feathery dry fruits: Aaron Carlson, CC BY SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

closeup of Virginia woodbine (Clematis virginiana): SB Johnny, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clematis_virginiana_001.JPG

native range map for Virginia woodbine (CLVI5): USDA NRCS National Plant Data Team, Public Domain, via USDA NRCS Plants Database @ http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=CLVI5

Virginia woodbine's feathery dry fruits: Aaron Carlson, CC BY SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/59003943@N00/5087784906/

For further information:

"Clematis virginiana." Missouri Botanical Garden > Gardens & Gardening > Your Garden > Plant Finder.
Available @ http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a379

"Clematis virginiana L." Native American Ethnobotany Database > Species.
Available @ http://naeb.brit.org/uses/species/1022/