A horde of Old Men has invaded my hedge bushes, well 1 bush, but that sounded weird

[UTUSN]

Let's see whether it shows, but each individual (flower?) looks like a long-bearded one. What IS it?!1

[Kali]

1. that is interesting!

is it a vine in there or is it some kind of parasite growing out of the bush - and what is the bush?

we have a wild clematis vine here that gets a beautiful fuzzy seed like that but no way that long - common names: Apache Plume and Old Man's Beard.

it kind of looks like there IS a woody vine with a three (or more) lobed leaf there - could be what it is

can you get some close ups of the stems, leaves and the fuzzy stuff - especially where it is attached?

[UTUSN]

2. The host bush is a Cape honeysuckle and doesn't look sapped by a parasite

I haven't actually looked closely as the Old Men so I can't say at this point, but will check it out better tomorrow/Saturday, to see whether it is a vine, where the bottom is, and to take a close-up of an individual (bloom?).

In the morning with the dew and the sunlight hitting them at that angle, they GLEAM, look flaxen!1 The odd part is that the whole clump is on the one bush, not spreading to neighbors.

[Kali]

3. I would bet money it is some kind of clematis, but the "feathers" seem so long

forgot the other common name - virgin's bower

here is a link to wiki and then you can look at the individual species - some are pretty cultivars, others you rerely notice the small greenish white flowers and only see the feathery seed tails.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clematis




Seed heads of Clematis vitalba growing in a hedge





close up of seeds

[UTUSN]

5. Saturday's close-up

OMZ, it IS a woody (vine?), very brittle long stem/trunk, not quite a quarter-inch in diameter, growing out of the ground next to the bush, then sprawling its (blooms?) over the top surface of the bush. It is NOT a parasite, not sucking strength from the bush. The fibrous threads in the close up are AFTER the fuzzy (seeds?) have flown off. I only called it "Old Men" from the looks of it, had not heard of it before. Somebody said that in Spanish it's called "Goat's Whiskers" or "Goat's Beard".

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. it is beautiful, whatever it is. I have never seen anything like it.

thanks for posting about it. I am off to search now and see what I can find out about it.

I have never seen this on honeysuckle. Interesting.

[UTUSN]

7. The Google for "goatsbeard" shows PLANTS, not weeds & mine is none of THESE pics in this post

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/270249/

[Tuesday Afternoon]

8. could it be something called:

Traveler's Joy ...?

[UTUSN]

9. Whoa, that's pretty close!1 Maybe I should be looking under "Lhasa Apso" (sigh,I used to have three

the dogs, that is!1 Thanks!1

[Tuesday Afternoon]

10. yw, let me know what you find out.

I would love to know more about it, whatever it is. :)

[marzipanni]

11. It's invasive! Now those old men seeds will be sprouting everywhere!

Better chop it down before it smothers your bush.
http://emswcd.org/weeds/weeds-toknow/132-old-mans-beard-travelers-joy-clematis-vitalba-

[UTUSN]

12. Wow, thanks for that great article. The thought had crossed my mind that

it might have some negative effects, but it looks so cute and didn't seem to be harming the bush. The article points to the longer term smothering and blocking light to the host. Thanks. I'm off to root it out!1

[Gold Metal Flake]

4. It's the fabled merkin tree.