Clematis virginiana

Native

Moderate moisture. Wood edges, thickets. Partial sun to full sun.

July to August

White to greenish

Climbs up to 9′

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

The stems are purplish and sparsely to moderately hairy, the lower part becoming brown and woody with age. They are keeled with one or more longitudinal ridges. They extend from 6½′ to 23′ and can climb 6′ to 9′.

The leaves are opposite, compound, on stalks up to 2″ long, and mostly divided into 3 leaflets. The leaflets are attached to a central axis by a stalk up to ⅜″ long. The terminal leaflet is on a longer stalk than the two lateral leaflets. The central stalk of the leaflet is adapted for grasping by wrapping around objects. It is by this means that the vine is able to climb.

The leaflets are egg-shaped to lance-shaped, shalowly lobed, 1⅓″ to 3½″ long, and ⅔″ to 3″ wide. They taper to a sharp point at the tip with concave sides along the tip. The margins are usually coarsely toothed but can be untoothed. The upper surface is hairless. The under side is sparsely or densely covered with long, soft, straight hairs.

The inflorescence is dense, branched, stalked clusters, up to a few inches across, rising from the leaf axils on hairy stalks.

Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants, though some plants have flowers with both male and female parts (perfect). The flowers are about ⅜″ wide, with 4 white to greenish, widely-spreading, petal-like sepals. There are no petals.

The fruit is an egg-shaped achene containing a single seed. The styles remain attached, becoming up to 2″ long, green, silky, hairless, and curled, eventually turning brown.

Sweet autumn virgin’s bower (Clematis terniflora) leaves are divided into usually 5 leaflets. The leaf stalk is twining. The leaflets are on a twining leaflet stalk up to 1⅛″ long, unlobed, untoothed, and taper to a blunt, rounded tip. The flowers are much larger, 1½″ to 2″ wide. The elongated styles attached to the achenes are covered with long white hairs, giving them a feathery appearance.

Western blue virgin’s bower (Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis) unlobed or occasionally 1 to 3 lobed The inflorescence is a single, sometimes 2, flowers rising mostly from the leaf axils. The flowers are bell-shaped and reddish violet. The elongated styles attached to the achenes are hairless.