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Hairy Clematis
Clematis hirsutissima Pursh
Synonym: C. douglasii. Other names: vase flower, sugar bowls, leather flower.
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Family: Ranunculaceae,
Buttercup
Genus: Clematis
Description
General: bushy, herbaceous perennial from a woody,
branched base, more or less generally woolly-long-hairy to
sparsely soft-long-hairy, stems usually several, erect or
slightly creeping at base, 20-40 dm, tall, simple.
 Leaves: opposite, in several pairs, the lowest ones
much reduced, bractlike, entire, transitional to the middle
and upper stem leaves, stalkless to short-stalked, the
blades up to 13 cm long, 2-4 times pinnately dissected into
ultimately linear to narrowly lanceolate segments.
 Flowers: single on terminal stalks, nodding, the calyx
leathery, urn- to bell-shaped, the sepals usually 4, rarely 5,
bluish-purple, grayish-long- to woolly-hairy on the outside
but hairless and much more deeply colored within, mostly
2-3 cm long, joined at base, the tips free and usually
curved back. Stamens inside flowers, the filaments softly
long-hairy.
Flowering time: April-July.
 Fruits: achenes, densely soft-long-hairy, the persistent
styles feathery, 2.5-4.5 cm long.
Distribution
Grassland, sagebrush plains, and ponderosa pine forests,
in w. and c. parts of MT. Also from s.c. B.C. and e. WA
and OR to WY.
 Medicinal plant: see below.
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(click on image for full size)
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(click on images for full size)
Medicinal Uses:
A decoction of the leaves of hairy clematis has been used to treat headaches. The Navajo Indians used the root in the treatment of congested nose pain.
Although no reports of toxicity have been seen for this species, some if not all members of this genus are mildly poisonous. The toxic principle is dissipated by heat or by drying.
Other Uses:
The seed floss makes an excellent tinder for starting fires, a spark from a flint will quickly ignite it. The seed floss can be used as an insulation in shoes etc.
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