''Clematis lasiantha'', the pipestem clematis, is a creamy-white flowering
liana
A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...
vine, belonging to
subgenus
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
''Clematis'' of the large genus ''Clematis''.
Distribution
It is found on the
Pacific coast of
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, from the
San Francisco Bay Area southwards into
Baja California. It extends as far east as the western foothills of the
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
mountains, but does not grow in the
Central Valley, nor at heights greater than about . It grows on hillsides, in
chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...
, and in open woodland.
Description
''Clematis lasiantha'', the pipestem clematis, flowers from January to June. Its leaves are 3-lobed, and generally grow groups of three to five leaflets, the largest leaves on the plant normally being between 3 and 5 cm in size. The pipestem clematis can be distinguished from the similar (but much more widely ranging)
virgin's bower by the fact that pipestems normally only have one flower on each stalk, and at most three, whereas the virgin's bower has multiple flowers on each stem. The pipestem also has more
pistil
Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...
s in each flower, but since both species have many, this is not an easy criterion to apply. The virgin's bower is more likely to be found along streams or in other wet places, whereas the pipestem tolerates more open, drier places. The plant attracts butterflies.
References
Further reading
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External links
Treatment from the Jepson Manual - ''Clematis lasiantha''''Clematis lasiantha'' - Photographs @ CalPhotosEntry in the online Flora of North America; Clematis lasiantha
lasiantha
Vines
Flora of California
Flora of Baja California
Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands
Natural history of the Channel Islands of California
Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges
Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains
Natural history of the Transverse Ranges
Garden plants of North America
Drought-tolerant plants
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
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