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

clématite de virginie, devil's darning needles, virgin's-bower, Virginia bower, Virginia virgin's-bower

Stems

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

climbing, 2-7 m. Leaf blade 3-foliolate;

leaflets ovate to lanceolate, 3.5-9 × 1.5-7.5 cm, margins coarsely toothed to entire;

surfaces abaxially sparsely to densely pilose, adaxially glabrate.

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.

Inflorescences

terminal, flowers solitary.

axillary, 3-many-flowered simple or compound cymes.

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.

unisexual;

pedicel slender, 1-2 cm;

sepals wide-spreading, not recurved, white to cream, elliptic or nearly oblong to oblanceolate, 6-14 mm, abaxially densely white-hairy, adaxially sparsely white-hairy;

stamens ca. 30-50+;

filaments glabrous;

staminodes absent or fewer than stamens;

pistils 40-70;

beak nearly equaling sepals.

Achenes

bodies densely long-pubescent;

beak 4-9 cm, plumose.

ovate, 2.5-3.5 × l.5 mm, conspicously rimmed, sparsely short-hairy;

beak 2.5-5 cm.

2n

= 16.

Clematis hirsutissima

Clematis virginiana

Phenology Flowering summer (Jun–Sep).
Habitat Streamsides, wet roadsides, fencerows, and other moist, disturbed, wooded or open sites, locally abundant
Elevation 0-1500 m (0-4900 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; CT; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; MB; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC
[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.)

Clematis virginiana is the most frequent and widespread virgin's-bower in eastern North America. It is easily distinguished from C. catesbyana by the presence of three ovate leaflets.

Native Americans used infusions prepared from the roots of Clematis virginiana medicinally to treat kidney ailments, and mixed them with milkweed to heal backaches and venereal sores. Decoctions of stems were ingested to induce strange dreams. In addition, the plant was used as an ingredient in green corn medicine (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. Clematis
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. viorna, C. vitalba, C. viticaulis, C. viticella
Subordinate taxa
C. hirsutissima var. hirsutissima, C. hirsutissima var. scottii
Synonyms Coriflora hirsutissima C. canadensis, C. holosericea, C. missouriensis, C. virginiana var. missouriensis
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 2: 385. (1814) Linnaeus: Cent. Pl. I, 15. (1755)
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