Clematis vitalba is a perennial from the ranunculus family or Ranunculaceae. It is a dicotyle plant which can be seen from the regular concentric distribution of the vascular bundles in the cross section of the twig. It is a woody climbing plant that occurs in forests and scrubland on calcareous soils. It grows in light places in forests, forest edges, hedges, fences and wooded banks, scrubland in the dunes, along railways, along river dikes, floodplains and waterfronts.
The plant stands out because it can grow over bushes and branches like a veil, forming thick packages of branches with a dense foliage and flower cover. This is because the leaf stems wrap around stems or branches of other plants and shrubs. That is why birds are only too happy to nest in the branches of the plant where they find protection and shelter.
The plant flowers with large amounts of cream-colored, small flowers that smell nice. In the fall, the flowers develop into seeds that are surrounded by woolly fluff. These silver shiny fluff will stay in the plant during the winter. The plant is native in the temperate climate zones of Europe, Asia and America. It is a poisonous plant because of the juice. It contains alkaloid protoanemonin, a toxic substance that can cause skin infections.
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