Ranunculaceae

Clematis microphylla

Common Names: Old mans beard.

Plant Form: Woody climbing shrub. Size: Climbing to about 3 m high. Stem: Woody, scrambling. Leaves: Compound of 3 leaflets with 2 opposite and 1 larger central leaflet up to 5 cm long. Flowers: Creamy-white with 4 long petal-like structures (perianths) giving a an X shape, along with a circular segment in the middle where fruit form. Fruit and Seeds: Form from the centre of spent flowers, simple dry fruit with very long downy hairs attached to top which form beard-like white masses surrounding heads. Habitat: This native vine inhabits a variety of ecosystems including forests, woodlands, urban bushland, gullies, riparian areas, coastal scrub. Distinguishing Features: Has generally smaller and narrower leaflets than other lookalike Clematis species, except for Fine leaved clematis (Clematis leptophylla) whish has much smaller leaves. Impacts: Note - this is a native plant