Clematis hirsutissima / hairy clematis
- striking, purple, upside-down vase
- four hairy sepals (not actually petals) fused to make the vase
- one flower per stem
- leaves divided into narrow leaflets
- moist or seasonally moist meadows
Synonym: Coriflora hirsutissima
Also known as: vase flower, sugar-bowl clematis, leather-flower clematis, lion’s beard
As an herbaceous perennial, the hairy clematis appears de novo each spring, blooming while there is still adequate soil moisture in mid-spring to early summer. Once it starts blooming, if you can find it in the crowd of deep vegetation, it can’t be mistaken for anything else. Basically, everything about this plant is hairy… its highly divided leaves, its stem, its flowering shoot, its fused-sepal vase (there are no petals), and all the business parts of the flower. Even the fruit, a wind-dispersed achene, is hairy.
The hairy clematis is unique among Clematis spp. in that it is not a vine. So even if you do see the plant, recognizing it as a Clematis might not come immediately. It certainly didn’t for me.
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