Dear Caitlyn,

Thanks so much for submitting this report of Clematis vitalba, or Old Mans Beard as part of an invasive species workshop sponsored by Oregon Sea Grant! It was great that your class was able to identify this new invader and immediately take action by reporting it to the hotline! Great work!

Clematis vitalba is a very highly invasive vine that can easily escape into natural areas cause alot of damage to our ecosystems and our economy. It smothers trees and entire hillsides, and is very difficult to remove once established. I will forward this report to the grounds keepers at OSU who I think are responsible for managing the vegetation. I hope they will be able to control this infestation! I'll let you know how it goes!

Keep on reporting new invasive species! (find out what species we would like to have reported at this site:
http://www.westerninvasivesnetwork.org/pages/plants.php

Take care,
Tania

Tania Siemens
WISE Program Coordinator (Watershed and Invasive Species Education)
Oregon Sea Grant Extension
Oregon State University
tania.siemens@oregonstate.edu
541-914-0701

Tania Siemens
Aug. 9, 2011, 5:11 a.m.

Hi again Caitlyn,
You will be pleased to know that the OSU facilities shop plans to control the old man's beard! Here is his response:

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Tania,

Thanks for alerting us to the presence of Clematis vitalba on OSU campus
We will remove it promptly

There have been several instances of this weed in the neighborhoods both north and west of this part of campus in the past.
We have removed a couple of plants that have tried to establish on campus.
As you are aware constant vigilance is the best first defense in the battle against noxious weeds

Unfortunately with our current staffing there are areas that have more weeds than we would like to see, including as you have noted many of the more common problematic weeds
We are chipping away as best we can…

Thanks again for letting us know,
Norm


Norm Brown
Oregon State University
Landscape Management | Facilities Services
130 Oak Creek Building, Corvallis, Oregon 97331
Phone: 541-737-7639 | Fax: 541-737-4681
Norm.Brown@oregonstate.edu

Tania Siemens
Aug. 9, 2011, 11:54 p.m.