Flora of North America species comparison

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Clematis occidentalis

Clematis versicolor

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

manycolor virginsbower, pale clematis, pale leather flower
Stems

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

viny, to 5 m, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
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 8-10 plus additional tendril-like terminal leaflet, elliptic to ovate, usually unlobed, occasionally 2-3-lobed, 2-8 × 1.5-6.5 cm, leathery, abaxially and adaxially prominently reticulate;

surfaces abaxially glabrous and glaucous.
Inflorescences

axillary, 1-7-flowered.
Flowers

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

broadly urn-shaped;

sepals abaxially pale lavender to reddish purple, grading to pale green toward tip, narrowly ovate, 1.5-3 cm, margins not expanded, thick, not crispate, tomentose, tips acute, slightly spreading, glabrous.
Achenes

bodies appressed-pubescent;

beak (3-)5-6 cm, plumose.
2n

= 16.

Clematis occidentalis

Clematis versicolor
Phenology Flowering spring–summer (Jun–Aug).
Habitat Calcareous outcrops, sandy soils, dry woods and thickets, barrens, and roadsides
Elevation 30-100 m (100-300 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; AR; KY; MO; OK; TN; TX
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

(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. morefieldii, C. occidentalis, C. ochroleuca, C. orientalis, C. pauciflora, C. pitcheri, C. recta, C. reticulata, C. socialis, C. tangutica, C. terniflora, C. texensis, 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 Viorna versicolor
Name authority (Hornemann) de Candolle: Prodr. 1: 10. (1824) Small ex Rydberg: in N. L. Britton, Man. Fl. N. States, 421. (1901)
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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