Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Clematis from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-10-009x:
Clematis verticillaris FAMILY Ranunculaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Atragene americana
COMMON NAME:
Mountain Clematis, Purple Clematis
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_atam2_001_lvd
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_c_occidentalis1
June Park County WY
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_c_occidentalis1b
June Park County WY
These large, dull blue flowers are up to 2" and have thin-textured sepals, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-10-009x:
Clematis verticillaris
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Atragene americana
3209
Herbaceous vine
Perennial
Habitat: Rocky slopes over mafic rocks (greenstone, amphibolite), known positively in NC only from amphibolite peaks in Ashe County, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Odd-pinnately compound: 3 leaflets
Opposite
Leaves have petioles.
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Dull blue-violet
Radially symmetrical
4 petaloid sepals
Petals absent
Numerous stamens
Superior ovary
Flowers solitary in leaf axils
FRUIT:
Brownish
Aggregate of achenes
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".