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sweet autumn clematis, sweet autumn virginsbower, yam-leaf clematis, yam-leaf virgin's-bower

net-leaf clematis, netleaf leather flower

Stems

climbing with tendril-like petioles and leaf rachises, 3-6 m.

viny, to 4 m, glabrous or sparsely pilose-pubescent, sometimes more densely pubescent near nodes.

Leaf

blade pinnately 3- or 5-foliolate;

leaflets ovate or broadly lanceolate to narrowly deltate, to 6.5 × 3.5 cm, margins entire;

surfaces abaxially glabrous or very sparingly appressed-strigose on major veins.

blade 1-pinnate;

leaflets 6-8 plus additional tendril-like terminal leaflet, elliptic to ovate, unlobed, 1-3-lobed, or proximal 3-foliolate, 1-9 × 0.5-5(-7.5) cm, leathery, prominently and finely reticulate abaxially and adaxially;

surfaces abaxially silky-pubescent, not glaucous.

Inflorescences

axillary, 3-12-flowered cymes or compound cymes or paniculate with cymose subunits.

axillary, 1-3-flowered;

bracts about 1/3 distance from base of peduncle.

Flowers

bisexual, often some unisexual (staminate) in same inflorescence;

pedicel 1-3.5 cm, slender;

sepals wide-spreading, not recurved, white, linear or elliptic to lanceolate or narrowly obovate, 0.9-2.2 cm, length ca. 2-3 times width, abaxially tomentose along margins, adaxially glabrous;

stamens ca. 50;

filaments glabrous;

staminodes absent;

pistils 5-10.

urn-shaped;

sepals pale lavender to purple, greenish toward tip, ovate-lanceolate, 1.2-3 cm, margins not expanded, ± thick, not crispate, densely tomentose, tips acute, recurved, abaxially usually ± densely yellowish pubescent, occasionally nearly glabrous.

Achenes

broad, flat, conspicuously rimmed, minutely appressed-silky, sometimes sparsely so;

beak 2-6 cm.

bodies appressed-pubescent;

beak 4-6 cm, plumose.

2n

= 16.

Clematis terniflora

Clematis reticulata

Phenology Flowering summer (Jul–Sep). Flowering spring–summer (May–Jun).
Habitat Roadsides, thickets, and other secondary sites, edges of woods near creeks Dry woods and thickets in sandy soils
Elevation 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft) 0-150 m (0-500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV; ON; native to Asia (China, Korea, Japan) [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; OK; SC; TX
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Clematis terniflora is commonly cultivated as an ornamental. It is widely naturalized in the eastern United States. The name C. paniculata J. F. Gmelin was incorrectly used for this species by Thunberg in 1794.

Some authors have recognized two or more varieties in this species, correlated with their distribution in Asia, but in the study by H.Hara (1975), all of the varietal names were reduced to synonymy.

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

In immature fruit, especially, the vestiture of the beaks of Clematis reticulata might not consistently suffice to distinguish it from C. pitcheri, which has appressed-pubescent beaks. Clematis reticulata is distinguished from C. pitcheri by the very fine reticulation of the leaves, with the smallest areoles completely enclosed by veinlets generally less than 1 mm long and even the quaternary veins prominently raised on the adaxial surface.

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

Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Clematis > subg. Clematis 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. occidentalis, C. ochroleuca, C. orientalis, C. pauciflora, C. pitcheri, C. recta, C. reticulata, C. socialis, C. tangutica, 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. socialis, C. tangutica, C. terniflora, C. texensis, C. versicolor, C. viorna, C. virginiana, C. vitalba, C. viticaulis, C. viticella
Synonyms C. dioscoreifolia, C. dioscoreifolia var. robusta, C. maximowicziana Viorna reticulata, V.subreticulata
Name authority de Candolle: Syst. Nat. 1: 137. (1817) Walter: Fl. Carol., 156. (1788)
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