''Clematis hirsutissima'' is a species of flowering plant in the

buttercup family Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...

known by the common name hairy clematis or vase flower. It is a perennial herb that is native to much of the western United States, from

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. It is a small, erect plant which, unlike other '' Clematis'', does not generally produce

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

s. It is quite variable in appearance, especially across varieties. In general the hairy stem reaches up to about half a meter tall and has many large hairy leaves divided into lance-shaped lobes. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

appears at the tip of the stem and bears a solitary flower. The flower is made up of an urn-shaped cup of deep purple-blue petal like

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s, which are fuzzy and have pointed or rounded tips. Rare individuals have white or pinkish sepals. There are no true petals. The fruit is a hairy

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

with a very long beak and a plume on the end; it is dispersed by wind. The plant was thought by some

Plains Indians Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...

to have healing properties. It grows in grasslands, sagebrush plains, and ponderosa forests.

References

External links

USDA Plants ProfileFlora of North America
hirsutissima Flora of the United States {{Ranunculales-stub