old man's beard

English

Noun

old man's beard (countable and uncountable, plural old man's beards or old men's beards)

1. (countable) Chionanthus virginicus, a tree.
2. Clematis aristata, an Australian climbing plant.
3. Clematis vitalba, a climbing plant.
4. (uncountable) Tillandsia usneoides, a bromeliad; Spanish moss.
5. (uncountable) Usnea, a type of lichen.

   Synonyms: beard lichen, usnea

6. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see old,‎ man,‎ -'s,‎ beard.
   • 1865, W. H. Ainsworth, Auriol; or, the Elixir of Life., G. Routledge & Sons, →OCLC, page 3:

     The old man's beard and hair were as white as snow—the former descending almost to his girdle; so were the thick overhanging brows that shaded his still piercing eyes.

Translations

Clematis vitalba, a climbing plant

• Catalan: vidalba f
• Dutch: bosrank (nl) f
• Finnish: saksankärhö (fi)
• French: clématite des haies (fr) f
• Italian: vitalba f
• Macedonian: павит m (pavit), повит m (povit)
• Russian: ломоно́с виноградоли́стный m (lomonós vinogradolístnyj), клема́тис виноградоли́стный (klemátis vinogradolístnyj)
• Welsh: barf hen ŵr f

Usnea, a lichen

• French: usnée (fr) f

• 
  Chionanthus virginicus
• 
  Spanish moss
• 
  Clematis vitalba seeds
• 
  Usnea