Clematis terniflora

Native to eastern Asia. Introduced and naturalized in eastern North America.

Dry to moderate moisture. Wood edges, thickets. Full to partial sun.

July to September

White

Climbs up to 9′

This is a climbing and scrambling, perennial, semi-woody vine that rises from an elongated rhizome.

The stems are green and hairless when young, becoming brownish-green to brown with age. They are keeled with one or more longitudinal ridges. They extend from 10′ to 20′ and can climb 6′ to 9′.

The leaves are opposite, compound, on leaf stalks up to 1½″ long, and divided into usually 5 but sometimes 3 leaflets. The leaflets are attached to a central axis by a leaflet stalk up to 1⅛″ long. The central stalk of the leaflet and the leaflet stalks are adapted for coiling by spiraling around objects (twining). It is by this means that the vine is able to climb.

The leaflets are egg-shaped to lance-shaped, nearly circular, or narrowly triangular, up to 2½″ long and 1⅓″ wide. They taper to a blunt, rounded tip. The margins are untoothed but can be untoothed. The upper surface is green and hairless. The lower surface is dull light green and hairless or may have short, appressed hairs along the main veins.

The inflorescence is dense, branched, stalked clusters, with 3 to 12 large flowers, rising from the leaf axils on hairless or sparsely hairy stalks.

Male and female flowers may be borne on separate plants, though most plants have flowers with both male and female parts (perfect). The flowers are 1½″ to 2″ wide. There are 4 white, widely-spreading, petal-like sepals. There are no petals. The sepals are hairy along the margins on the lower surface. There are about 50 stamens with white filaments and 5 to 10 pistils.

The fruit is an egg-shaped, flattened achene containing a single seed. The styles remain attached, becoming ¾″ to 2⅓″ long, green, silky, and curled. The are covered with long white hairs, giving them a feathery appearance. They eventually turn brown.

Virgin’s bower (Clematis virginiana) leaves are divided into 3 leaflets. The leaflets are on short leaf stalks ⅜″ long or less, shallowly lobed, coarsely toothed, and taper to a sharp point. The flowers are much smaller, only about ⅜″ wide. The elongated styles attached to the achenes are hairless.

Western blue virgin’s bower (Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis) leaves are occasionally 1 to 3 lobed and taper to a sharp point. The inflorescence is a single, sometimes 2, flowers rising mostly from the leaf axils. The flowers are bell-shaped and reddish violet.