Flora of North America species comparison

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Clematis occidentalis

Clematis morefieldii

blue clematis, clématite occidentale, Columbia bower, Columbia clematis, Columbia virgin's bower, purple clematis, purple virgin's-bower, rock clematis, western blue clematis, western blue virginsbower, western clematis

huntsville vasevine, Morefield's clematis, Morefield's leather-flower
Stems

viny, climbing or trailing (plants scarcely viny perennials in var. dissecta).

viny, to 5 m, cobwebby-tomentose and pilose.
Leaf

blade 1-ternate (or terminal leaflet sometimes ternate in var. dissecta), ± firm but not succulent;

leaflets lance-ovate to triangular or suborbiculate, lobed or unlobed, margins entire or toothed.

blade 1-pinnate;

leaflets 4-10 plus additional tendril-like terminal leaflet, narrowly to broadly ovate, unlobed or 2-3-lobed, 3.5-10 × 2-6.5 cm, thin, reticulate;

surfaces abaxially densely silky-pilose, not glaucous.
Inflorescences

axillary, 1-5-flowered;

bracts at or near base of peduncle/pedicel.
Flowers

sepals violet-blue, reddish violet, or white, lanceolate to ovate or elliptic-oblong.

urn-shaped;

sepals pinkish, suffused with green, oblong-lanceolate, 2-2.5 cm, margins not expanded, thick, not crispate, tomentose, tips acuminate, slightly spreading to short-reflexed, abaxially densely silky-pubescent.
Achenes

bodies silky-pubescent;

beak 3-3.5 cm, plumose.

Clematis occidentalis

Clematis morefieldii
Phenology Flowering spring–early summer.
Habitat Open woods among limestone boulders
Elevation 200-300 m (700-1000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; CT; DE; IA; ID; IL; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MT; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OR; PA; RI; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; NB; ON; QC; SK; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

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

Of conservation concern.

Clematis morefieldii is known only from limestone uplands east of Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama.

From all variants of the closely related Clematis viorna, C. morefieldii differs in the cobwebby tomentose as well as villous pubescence of its stems, and in having bracts at or very near the base of the peduncle rather than well above the base.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaflets lobed or unlobed, margins entire or crenate-serrate (or terminal leaflet sometimes ternate); stems tufted or, if viny, up to 0.5(–1.5) m.
var. dissecta
1. Leaflets unlobed or some 1–3-lobed, margins entire or shallowly serrate; stems ± viny, climbing or trailing, 0.25–3.5 m.
→ 2
2. Sepals reddish violet, rounded-mucronate to nearly acuminate.
var. occidentalis
2. Sepals violet-blue to pale blue, rarely white, usually distinctly acuminate.
var. grosseserrata
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Clematis > subg. Atragene 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. hirsutissima, C. lasiantha, C. ligusticifolia, C. morefieldii, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
C. occidentalis var. dissecta, C. occidentalis var. grosseserrata, C. occidentalis var. occidentalis
Synonyms Atragene occidentalis
Name authority (Hornemann) de Candolle: Prodr. 1: 10. (1824) Kral: Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 74: 665. (1987)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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