Clematis is the quiet show-off of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae: a genus of roughly 300–350 species of mostly twining vines and shrublets found across the temperate world, with just a handful naturally occurring in southern Africa.

From delicate climbers that lace through shrubs, to free-standing “feather duster” bushes crowned in silky seedheads, Clematis combines toughness with a very elegant, almost romantic look. Many species are valued globally for their ornamental flowers and their decorative, feathery fruits, and several have a long history of traditional medicinal use in Africa and Asia.

Our indigenous Clematis – including Clematis brachiata, C. hirsuta and C. villosa – are perfectly adapted to South Africa’s summer-rainfall climates. They cope with heat, wind, frost and poor soils, yet still manage to smother themselves in blooms and shimmering seed tails that catch the light like spun silver.

For the gardener or smallholder who loves naturalistic plantings, they are ideal for softening fences and wires, spilling over rocks, colonising sunny slopes and tying together shrubs and grasses into a single, airy tapestry.

Clematis do best when their roots are kept cool and shaded while their stems can reach into the sun – the classic “feet in the shade, head in the sun” recipe.

Grown from seed, they reward patience with long-lived, characterful plants that feel authentically wild and uniquely African, yet look refined enough for any town garden or modern landscape.

Clematis brachiata × villosa – Silver Beard

Clematis brachiata × villosa is the cross between two iconic South African species: the vigorous climber Clematis brachiata, known as traveller’s joy or old man’s beard, and the shrubby feather duster, C. villosa (formerly Clematopsis scabiosifolia).

The best-known selection from this cross is the named hybrid Clematis brachiata × villosa ‘Silver Beard’, a Kirstenbosch-bred plant created by the late Rodney Saunders. Common names include silver beard clematis, reflecting both the fluffy seedheads and its breeder’s distinctive beard.

‘Silver Beard’ represents the hybrid particularly well: a small, evergreen creeper with numerous lightly wooded, softly hairy stems arising from a woody base, typically forming a mound or scrambling up to about 3 m if given support. The foliage is light green, softly hairy and pinnately divided, combining the airy look of C. villosa with the vigour of C. brachiata. In summer, the plant produces many nodding, hellebore-like flowers with four petal-like sepals, blushed pink to mauve over creamy tones, sweetly scented and carried in small clusters above the foliage. These are followed by plump achenes each tipped with a long, silvery, feathery style, creating a mass of shimmering “beards” that persist well after flowering – a clear echo of both parents.

In cultivation, the hybrid is tougher than it looks. It thrives in well-drained, compost-enriched soil, with moderate watering and a position in full sun to light shade where the roots can remain cool. Plants are frost hardy, often dying back partially in severe winters and shooting afresh in spring. Flowering is at its best in late summer, roughly December to March, followed by a long display of ornamental seedheads. Seed-raised plants may show some variation in flower size and colour but generally retain the charming combination of pink-blushed, scented blooms and silver plumes, making this hybrid a very desirable choice for pergolas, trellises, banks and large containers in South African gardens.