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Douglas' clematis, hairy clematis, leatherflower, sugar bowls, vaseflower

leather-flower, vasevine

Stems

erect, not viny, 1.5-6.5 dm, hirsute (sometimes sparsely so in var. hirsutissima) or densely short, soft-pubescent to nearly glabrous.

viny, to 4 m, without cobwebby pubescence, nearly glabrous, or moderately pilose-pubescent proximal to nodes.

Leaf

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 mostly 1-pinnate, some simple;

leaflets usually 4-8 plus additional tendril-like terminal leaflet, lanceolate to ovate, unlobed or 2-3-lobed, or most proximal 3-foliolate, 2-12 × 1-5(-6) cm, thin, not conspicuously reticulate;

surfaces abaxially sparsely to densely pilose, not glaucous.

Inflorescences

terminal, flowers solitary.

axillary, 1-7-flowered;

bracts well above base of peduncle/pedicel.

Flowers

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.

broadly urn-shaped to bell-shaped;

sepals pale lavender to reddish purple, grading to cream-yellow toward tip, ovate-lanceolate, 1.5-3 cm, margins not expanded, very thick, not crispate, tomentose, tips acuminate, recurved, abaxially sparsely to densely pubescent.

Achenes

bodies densely long-pubescent;

beak 4-9 cm, plumose.

bodies silky-pubescent;

beak 2.5-6 cm, plumose.

2n

= 16.

Clematis hirsutissima

Clematis viorna

Phenology Flowering spring–summer.
Habitat Wooded cliffs and stream banks
Elevation 0-1400 m (0-4600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; ID; MT; NE; NM; OK; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; DC; DE; GA; IL; IN; KY; MD; MO; MS; NC; OH; PA; SC; TN; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Formerly Clematis viorna was locally naturalized near Guelph, Ontario; no recent reports are known. D.S. Correll and M.C. Johnston (1970) mention "a report of a specimen" from Texas; neither the specimen nor further details have been located.

The Fox Indians prepared a drink from the roots of Clematis viorna to use medicinally as a panacea (D. E. Moerman 1986).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
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
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Clematis > subg. Viorna Ranunculaceae > Clematis > subg. Viorna
Sibling taxa
C. addisonii, C. albicoma, C. baldwinii, C. bigelovii, C. catesbyana, C. coactilis, C. columbiana, C. crispa, C. drummondii, C. fremontii, C. glaucophylla, C. lasiantha, C. ligusticifolia, C. morefieldii, C. occidentalis, C. ochroleuca, C. orientalis, C. pauciflora, C. pitcheri, C. recta, C. reticulata, C. socialis, C. tangutica, C. terniflora, C. texensis, C. versicolor, C. viorna, C. virginiana, C. vitalba, C. viticaulis, C. viticella
C. addisonii, C. albicoma, C. baldwinii, C. bigelovii, C. catesbyana, C. coactilis, C. columbiana, C. crispa, C. drummondii, C. fremontii, C. glaucophylla, C. hirsutissima, C. lasiantha, C. ligusticifolia, C. morefieldii, C. occidentalis, C. ochroleuca, C. orientalis, C. pauciflora, C. pitcheri, C. recta, C. reticulata, C. socialis, C. tangutica, C. terniflora, C. texensis, C. versicolor, C. virginiana, C. vitalba, C. viticaulis, C. viticella
Subordinate taxa
C. hirsutissima var. hirsutissima, C. hirsutissima var. scottii
Synonyms Coriflora hirsutissima C. beadlei, C. viorna var. flaccida, Viorna beadlei, Viorna flaccida, Viorna gattingeri, Viorna viorna
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 2: 385. (1814) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 543. (1753)
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