Clematis texensis
Clematis ligusticifolia
crimson clematis, scarlet clematis, scarlet leather flower, Texas clematis
creek clematis, hierba de chivo, old man's beard, pipestems, virgin's-bower, western clematis, western virgin's bower, western white clematis, white clematis, white virgin's-bower, wireweed
viny, to 3 m, glabrous or sometimes ± hirsute near nodes.
clambering or climbing, to 6(-20) m. Leaf blade pinnately 5-foliolate or 2-pinnate and 9-15-foliolate, somewhat succulent;
leaflets lanceolate to broadly ovate, lobed or unlobed, (1-)3-9 × 0.9-7.2 cm, margins entire or variously toothed;
surfaces abaxially glabrous or sparsely pilose or silky, especially on veins; ultimate venation obscure.
blade 1-pinnate;
leaflets 6-10 plus additional tendril-like terminal leaflet, ovate to nearly round, unlobed, 2-3-lobed, or most proximal occasionally 3-foliolate, 1-9 × 1-6 cm, leathery, ± prominently reticulate adaxially;
surfaces abaxially usually glabrous, occasionally sparsely pubescent, glaucous.
axillary, 1-7-flowered.
axillary, usually 7-20(-65)-flowered compound cymes, often distinctly corymbiform, flowers crowded.
ovoid to urn-shaped;
sepals rose-red to scarlet abaxially and at tip adaxially, ovate-lanceolate, 1.5-3 cm, margins not expanded, thick, not crispate, tomentose, tips acute to acuminate, recurved, abaxially glabrous.
unisexual;
pedicel slender, 0.5-3 cm;
sepals wide-spreading, not recurved, white to cream, obovate to oblanceolate, 6-10 mm, abaxially and adaxially pilose;
stamens 25-50;
staminodes absent or fewer than stamens;
pistils 25-65.
bodies appressed-pubescent;
beak 4-7 cm, plumose.
elliptic, 3-3.5 × ca. 1.5 mm, prominently rimmed, silky;
beak 3-3.5 cm.
= 16.
= 16.
Clematis texensis
Clematis ligusticifolia
Although widely cultivated because it is the only species of Clematis with truly red flowers, C.texensis is native only to the southeastern part of the Edwards Plateau, Texas.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Clematis ligusticifolia is the common virgin's-bower in the western United States and Canada. In California it might hybridize with C. lasiantha. In Mexico it is found only in the extreme north; it is probably related to the Mexican and Central American species, C.grossa Bentham.
The name Clematis neomexicana has been applied to the populations with crenate leaflets in New Mexico and northern Chihuahua. This distinction is tenuous, however, given the wide variation present in leaflet margins within this and other species in Clematis subg. Clematis.
Two varieties of Clematis ligusticifolia have been weakly distinguished based on the presence or absence of 2-pinnate leaves.
Infusions prepared from the plants of Clematis ligusticifolia were used medicinally by Native Americans as a wash for skin eruptions, a lotion for backaches or swollen limbs, and a lotion to protect one against witches; stems and leaves were chewed to treat colds and sore throats; decoctions of leaves were also used as a wash and for stomachaches and cramps; and lathers of leaves were used to treat boils on humans and on animals (D. E. Moerman 1986).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
BC
CA
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
SW CO Wildflowers
