Texas Virgin's Bower. Clematis drummondii, Ranunculus or Buttercup Family: ( Ranunculaceae ) , Texas Virgin's Bower. Also called: Old Man's Beard, Drummond's Clematis, Barbas de Chivato, Graybeard, Love-in-the-mist, Grandad Beard, Goat Beard, Hierba de los Averos. We wish to thank Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for some of the information on this page. We share images and information with Wikipedia. Old-man's beard is a vine with slender, woody stems that grows in dry washes and canyons in West, Central and South Texas. It can have a shrub-like shape, but usually climbs along the ground or over shrubs and trees by loosly twining petioles. It is dioeceous, with male and female flowers on separate plants. Flowers on both are inconspicuous, appearing in spring and summer, but on females they are followed by extremely showy fruits with 3-inch-long silvery tails from August through October. The opposite, pinnately compound leaves are decidous. It is cold hardy into the teens, but will grow from the roots the next spring after a freeze. It can tolerate moisture as well as drought, although it does best in well-drained soil. Once established, old-man's beard is almost impossible to eliminate. Full sun to partial shade, little water required Quick Notes: Height: Up to 2 feet tall. Semi-woody vine up to 25 feet long. Flowers: 4 - 6 inch flower heads which are on slender stalks. The flowers are small, about a quarter inch in diameter, and are composed of four to six, but usually five, ray flowers, generally more wide than long with three teeth at their tips. The ray flowers encircle lots of little disk flowers. Flowering Time: Late March - November. Fruit: A small, berry-like drupe, 1/4 inch round, spotted, brick red in color. Leaves: Finely dissected green leaves about 2 - 5 inches long. Found: Found Sonoran Desert, Chihuahuan Desert: USA & Mexico. Native to the USA ( AZ, CO, NM, OK, TX ). Also found in Northern Mexico: Baja Norte, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo Leon, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas. And Southern Mexico: Oaxaca, & Puebla. Hardiness: USDA Zone 3a: to -39.9 �C (-40 �F) USDA Zone 3b: to -37.2 �C (-35 �F) USDA Zone 4a: to -34.4 �C (-30 �F) USDA Zone 4b: to -31.6 �C (-25 �F) USDA Zone 5a: to -28.8 �C (-20 �F) USDA Zone 5b: to -26.1 �C (-15 �F) USDA Zone 6a: to -23.3 �C (-10 �F) USDA Zone 6b: to -20.5 �C (-5 �F) USDA Zone 7a: to -17.7 �C (0 �F) USDA Zone 7b: to -14.9 �C (5 �F) USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2 �C (10 �F) USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4 �C (15 �F) USDA Zone 9a: to -6.6 �C (20 �F) USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 �C (25 �F) USDA Zone 10a: to -1.1 �C (30 �F) USDA Zone 10b: to 1.7 �C (35 �F) USDA Zone 11: above 4.5 �C (40 �F) Soil pH requirements: 5.6 to 6.0 (acidic) 6.1 to 6.5 (mildly acidic) 6.6 to 7.5 (neutral) 7.6 to 7.8 (mildly alkaline) 7.9 to 8.5 (alkaline) Soil pH requirements: 5.6 to 6.0 (acidic) 6.1 to 6.5 (mildly acidic) 6.6 to 7.5 (neutral) 7.6 to 7.8 (mildly alkaline) 7.9 to 8.5 (alkaline) Sun Exposure: Full Sun Partial Shade Elevation: 0 to 9,216 feet. But, in Arizona we usually find it between 3,800 - 7,000 feet. Habitat: Desert soil, rock, does well in loose dry soil on slopes along roadsides and in rocky canyons. It climbs by twining over weeds, shrubs, and fences. Miscellaneous: Flowering Photos Taken September 30, 2006. Rich Hill, Arizona.

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