Bet your “Old Man’s Beard” wasn’t 100 feet long.

And there’s a good chance it wasn’t imported from southwest Asia or Europe.
Old Man’s Beard – also referred to in gentler terms as Traveler’s Joy – is an
invasive Clematis species hanging out on the Mountain.

“With each individual plant capable of producing more than 100,000 seeds per
year there’s the potential for this species to spread quickly along our local
rivers and creeks,” said Russ Plaeger of the Sandy Basin Watershed Council.

“That’s why we’re asking area residents to help control this plant.”

The Beard – unlike the kindlier English ivy vines that grow directly on the
trunks of trees – drapes from the limbs of the trees that they’re growing in.

The vines use trees as a superstructure to help them reach up to the sunny
tree tops.

The result is the dense Beard blocks the sunlight to the host plant’s leaves
and can eventually kill trees. When the vines are numerous their added
weight can topple trees. As a consequence, Old Man’s Beard destroys food
and habitat for native songbirds and other wildlife.

The leaves are opposite one another on the vines and each leaf usually has
five leaflets. The elongated, heart-shaped leaflets typically have smooth
edges. Because the leaves are deciduous, the vines are bare during the winter
except for the white seeds.

Young vines are ribbed and purple in color. Older vines are woody, often gray-
brown in color.

“The prolific, puffy, white seed heads, like super size cotton balls, are a
distinctive feature of the plant,” Plaeger said. “They’re visible from late
summer through autumn.”

In other words, the Beard is hanging out right now.

To control the Old Man, vines can be cut at waist height killing the upper
portions of the plant – then the lower sections can be pulled out and roots dug
out of the ground. The vines should be disposed of to prevent them from
sprouting.

“Although this invader is already present in the Welches-Zigzag area, it isn’t
widely established,” Plaeger said. “We ask people to report sightings of Old
Man’s Beard to the Sandy River Basin Watershed Council at 503-668-1646.