Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Clematis viorna
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Learn more about Northern Leatherflower from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Clematis viorna
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Clematis viorna
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-10-004:
Clematis viorna FAMILY Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Viorna viorna
COMMON NAME:
Northern Leatherflower, Vase-vine
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_vivi8_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm0305y_06
May Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Leaves pinnately compound w 3-9 leaflets, veins not prominent, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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JK Marlow jkm070528_103
May Laurens County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
2 subtending bracts positioned about halfway up the peduncle/ pedicel, per The genus Clematis in Georgia (Ware, 2009).
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JK Marlow jkm0506d_35
June Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
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JK Marlow jkm100606_018
June Union County SC
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JK Marlow jkm100606_024
June Union County SC
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JK Marlow jkm100606_032
June Union County SC
Sepals are petaloid, and there are usually 4 (petals are absent), per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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JK Marlow jkm100606_037
June Union County SC
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JK Marlow jkm100606_039
June Union County SC
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JK Marlow jkm100606_040
June Union County SC
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Tim Spira tps_cviorna_wbb3
June
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JK Marlow jkm0307d_13
July Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Purple bell-shaped flowers with very thick sepals recurved at the tip, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
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JK Marlow jkm140704_617
July Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm140704_619
July Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm140704_620
July Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
Inflorescences are axillary, 1-7 flowered, per The genus Clematis in Georgia (Ware, 2009).
)
JK Marlow jkm140704_626
July Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
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JK Marlow jkm220715_9150
July Greenville County SC
Petals absent. Thick, firm sepals form a leathery urn-shaped calyx, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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JK Marlow jkm220715_9152
July Greenville County SC
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Keith Bradley kab_clematis_viorna_1504
July Buncombe County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
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JK Marlow jkm211018_4363
October Pickens County SC
Fruit is a round cluster of achenes with long, feathery, curved tails, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
COMPARE
fruits that are an aggregate of achenes
)
JK Marlow jkm211018_4364
October Pickens County SC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Clematis viorna
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Clematis viorna
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America
Clematis viorna
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-10-004:
Clematis viorna
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Viorna viorna
341
Herbaceous vine
Perennial
Habitat: Mesic forests, woodlands, thickets, especially over calcareous or mafic rocks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in SC Piedmont & in GA, rare in SC Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
2-pinnately compound (usually)
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Sepal exterior cherry red
sepal interior cream
Radially symmetrical
4 petaloid sepals, calyx broadly urceolate to campanulate
Petals absent
Numerous stamens
Superior ovary
Flowers solitary in leaf axils
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Brownish
Aggregate of achenes
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p102
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p224
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p261
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p103
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p170
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p095
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p074
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p304
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p035
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p057
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p352
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p045
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