Clematis hirsutissima
Clematis columbiana
Douglas' clematis, hairy clematis, leatherflower, sugar bowls, vaseflower
Columbian virgin's bower, rock clematis
erect, not viny, 1.5-6.5 dm, hirsute (sometimes sparsely so in var. hirsutissima) or densely short, soft-pubescent to nearly glabrous.
viny, climbing or trailing (mainly rhizomatous, not viny in var. tenuiloba).
blade 2-3-pinnate;
leaflets often deeply 2-several-lobed, if lobed than lateral lobes usually small and distinctly narrower than central portion, leaflets or lobes linear to lanceolate, 1-6 × 0.05-1.5 cm, thin, not prominently reticulate;
surfaces sparsely to densely silky-hirsute, not glaucous.
blade consistently 2-3-ternate;
leaflets diverse in shape, thin or ± succulent, usually deeply lobed, margins serrate.
terminal, flowers solitary.
broadly cylindric to urn-shaped;
sepals very dark violet-blue or rarely pink or white, oblong-lanceolate, 2.5-4.5 cm, margins narrowly expanded distally, 0.5-2 mm wide, thin, distally ± crisped, tomentose, tips obtuse to acute, slightly spreading, abaxially usually densely hirsute, occasionally moderately so.
sepals violet-blue (rarely white in var. columbiana), lance-ovate to ovate.
bodies densely long-pubescent;
beak 4-9 cm, plumose.
Clematis hirsutissima
Clematis columbiana
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
The varieties of Clematis hirsutissima, although highly dissimilar in their extreme forms, intergrade extensively in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
The name Clematis columbiana was formerly misapplied to C. occidentalis var. grosseserrata; it is still associated with that taxon in some horticultural and popular publications. In such w C.columbiana is usually called C. pseudoalpina.
The two varieties of Clematis columbiana, although strikingly dissimilar in their extremes, intergrade extensively. The phenotype of C.columbiana var. tenuiloba may be at least in part a response to habitat; in some areas it grows on exposed summits while var. columbiana occurs nearby at lower elevations. In other areas, however, such as the Killdeer Mountains of North Dakota and the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, only the tenuiloba extreme is present.
The Thompson Indians used plants of Clematis columbiana medicinally in a head wash for scabs and eczema (D. E. Moerman 1986; varieties were not specified).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaflets and lobes linear to narrowly lanceolate, 0.5–6(–10) mm wide. | var. hirsutissima |
1. Leaflets and lobes narrowly to broadly lanceolate or ovate, 5–15 mm wide. | var. scottii |
1. Aerial stems elongating, viny, 0.5–1.5(–3.5) m; ultimate divisions of leaves often more than 5 mm wide, thin. | var. columbiana |
1. Aerial stems tufted, not viny, usually less than 0.1 m; ultimate divisions of leaves mostly 1.5–5 mm wide, ± succulent. | var. tenuiloba |
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
