Virgin’s Bower, Clematis virginiana, a three leaved vine that can be misidentified for poison ivy and like its look-a-like it’s dangerous to eat. It has been used medicinally for backache, stomach and kidney trouble and to treat venereal disease. Clematis has also been used for fire starting. The feathery haired seeds called Old Man’s Beard is great kindling and can be used in place of a birds nest. The wood has also been used as a fire board for friction fires.

Virgin’s Bower Sources:

Audubon Guides Box Set – Birds, Tree, Wildflowers & Mammals. Computer Software.Green Mountain Digital. Version: 2.3. Web. Jul 10, 2014.

Felter, Harvey Wickes, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D. King’s American Dispensatory, Vol. 1. Cincinnati: The Ohio Valley Company, 1905. pg. 561-563

Foster, Steven and James A. Duke. The Peterson Field Guide Series; A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America. 2nd. ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. Print. pg. 25-26

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 60

Herrick, James William. Iroquois Medical Botany. Ph.D. Thesis, New York: State University of New York, Albany 1977. Print. pg.120

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 169

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 170-171

United States Department of Agriculture. Natural Resources Conservation Services. Web.