Clematis pitcheri Torr. & A. Gray

Leather Flower

Clematis_pitcheri_plant.jpg
STATS

Native
CC = 6
CW = 3
MOC = 70

© SRTurner

Family - Ranunculaceae

Habit - Twining perennial forb.

Stem - Woody (at least toward the base), twining, 1-4 m long. Nodes with collars of tissue joining bases of leaf petioles.

Clematis_pitcheri_stem.jpg Stem and node.

© SRTurner

Leaves - Opposite, petiolate, pinnately 4-8-foliate, usually leathery in texture, the minor veins usually forming a raised network, the leaflets usually undivided, sometimes 3-lobed, the margins entire, the upper surface green, the undersurface hairy, at least along the main veins near the base, paler but not glaucous on the undersurface.

Clematis_pitcheri_leaves.jpg Lower leaf.

© SRTurner

Clematis_pitcheri_leaf1.jpg Terminal leaf adaxial.

© SRTurner

Clematis_pitcheri_leaf2.jpg Terminal leaf abaxial.

© SRTurner

Clematis_pitcheri_leaf2a.jpg Terminal leaf abaxial surface.

© SRTurner

Inflorescence - Flowers solitary or occasionally in groups of 3, on long peduncles.

Clematis_pitcheri_inflorescence.jpg Inflorescence.

© SRTurner

Flowers - Perfect, nodding. Perianth urn-shaped, the 4 sepals 18-34 mm long, erect to somewhat incurved, reflexed toward the tip, purple or blue, thickened and leathery, with thin, crisped margins 0.5-1.5 mm wide, at least toward the tip, the outer surface hairy, the inner surface glabrous. Petals absent. Stamens and pistils numerous.

Clematis_pitcheri_flower1.jpg Flower.

© SRTurner

Clematis_pitcheri_flower3.jpg Flower dorsal view.

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Clematis_pitcheri_flower2.jpg Flower ventral view.

© SRTurner

Clematis_pitcheri_styles.jpg Styles (sepals partially removed).

© SRTurner

Fruits - Achenes, flattened-ellipsoidal, with a 1-3 cm beak, the outer wall thick, glabrous.

Clematis_pitcheri_fruits.jpg Fruits.

© SRTurner

Clematis_pitcheri_fruits2.jpg Fruits.

© SRTurner

Clematis_pitcheri_fruits3.jpg Fruits.

© SRTurner

Flowering - May - August.

Habitat - Forests, bluffs, streambanks, roadsides, fencerows, fields.

Origin - Native to the U.S.

Lookalikes - Clematis crispa, Clematis versicolor, Clematis viorna. These are all considerably less common in most areas of the state.

Other info. - This attractive vine is found in scattered locations throughout most of Missouri and is the most common member of the genus statewide. The variety present in Missouri, var. pitcheri, occurs in a wide band from Lake Michigan to the Mexican border in Texas and beyond. The plant is easily recognized by its characteristic bell-shaped flowers and the distinctive collars at the stem nodes, although it could be confused with a few other species. This one is further characterized by having leathery, non-glaucous leaves and crisping on the sepal margins on the sepals very narrow or absent.

Photographs taken at St. Joe State Park, St. Francois County, MO, 7-6-2013, and along the Katy Trail near Dutzow, Warren County, MO, 7-4-2014, 7-10-2015, 7-6-2017, and 6-1-2023 (SRTurner).