Creek Clematis (Clematis ligusticifolia)

Clematis ligusticifolia is a climbing, spreading vine with showy flowers. It is also known as Old-man's Beard and Yerba de Chiva, and Virgin's bower (though this may also refer to C. lasiantha). It is native to North America and widespread across the western United States in streamside thickets, wooded hillsides, and coniferous forests up to 4,000 feet. It was called "pepper vine" by early travelers and pioneers of the American Old West. They used it as a pepper substitute to spice up food since real black pepper (Piper nigrum) was a costly and rarely obtainable spice. Like the rest of the Clematis genus, it contains essential oils and compounds which are extremely irritating to the skin and mucous membrames. Unlike Black Pepper or Capsicum, however, the compounds in clematis cause internal bleeding of the digestive tract if ingested internally in large amounts. The plants are essentially toxic. Despite its toxicity, Native Americans use very small amounts of clematis as an effective treatment for migraine headaches and nervous disorders. It is also used as an effective treatment of skin infections. A whole-plant hot water extraction can be used to treat eczema, and a leaf compress is used to treat chest pain, sores, and boils. From Calscape.

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