Burke: Clematis occidentalis

	Clematis occidentalis
	Columbia clematis, rock clematis, Columbia virgins-bower
Habit	Soft-hairy or sparsely woolly perennials with creeping or climbing, slender stems; plants scarcely viny in var. dissecta, found in the Wenatchee Mountains of Washington.
Leaves	Leaves opposite, ternate, firm but not succulent, the leaflets lance-ovate to triangular or sub-orbicular, lobed or unlobed, the margins entire or toothed.
Flowers	Flowers solitary, terminal on short axillary branches on naked peduncles 5-15 cm. long; sepals usually 4, ovate-lanceolate to elliptic-oblong, acuminate, 3.5-6 cm. long, violet-blue to pale blue; petals none; stamens numerous, the outer ones often sterile; styles 3-6 cm. long, plumose, persistent.
Fruits	Achenes short-pubescent.

	Clematis occidentalis
Flowering time	May-July
Habitat	Often in deep, fine soils in shady forest, also in cliffs and other rocky sites in open woods and thickets, at moderate to high elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to Saskatchewan and Wyoming. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	C. hirsutissima, C. ligusticifolia, C. orientalis, C. vitalba
Subordinate taxa	C. occidentalis var. dissecta, C. occidentalis var. grosseserrata
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Clematis occidentalis

Columbia clematis, rock clematis, Columbia virgins-bower

Habit

Soft-hairy or sparsely woolly perennials with creeping or climbing, slender stems; plants scarcely viny in var. dissecta, found in the Wenatchee Mountains of Washington.

Leaves

Leaves opposite, ternate, firm but not succulent, the leaflets lance-ovate to triangular or sub-orbicular, lobed or unlobed, the margins entire or toothed.

Flowers

Flowers solitary, terminal on short axillary branches on naked peduncles 5-15 cm. long;

sepals usually 4, ovate-lanceolate to elliptic-oblong, acuminate, 3.5-6 cm. long, violet-blue to pale blue;

petals none;

stamens numerous, the outer ones often sterile;

styles 3-6 cm. long, plumose, persistent.

Fruits

Achenes short-pubescent.

Clematis occidentalis

Flowering time

May-July

Habitat

Often in deep, fine soils in shady forest, also in cliffs and other rocky sites in open woods and thickets, at moderate to high elevations in the mountains.

Distribution