Swamp leatherflower

Description

Clematis paniculata (in Māori puawhananga) is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is one of seven species of clematis native to New Zealand. C. paniculata is the most common of these, and is widespread in forest throughout the country. Growing from lowland areas up to low mountainous forests, it flowers between August and November. The Māori name puawhananga translates as “flower of the skies”, and traditionally its flowering meant the start of spring. Clematis paniculata is an evergreen woody high-climbing vine. It has a woody stem that is usually around 10 cm or more in diameter at the base. The leaves are dark and globous, sparsely hairy beneath. They have stout branchlets. They have a leaf margin of toothed, entire or lobed near apex, though they are rarely ever profoundly lobed. The Clematis paniculata leaflets texture is similar to leather meaning that you can see pores and wrinkles. The leaves are shiny and tough looking. The leaves have the shape of broadly ovate to broad oblong and heart-shaped to truncate at the base. The Clematis paniculata is a unisex plant though the male and female flowers are similar as both have six sepals, with white flowers lobed. But, the female flower has a smaller sepal than the male. They both have white sepals that are narrow towards the end, rectangular or rounded end. Females have few staminodes and males have lots. Females do not have persistent fruits.The female has hairy achenes that are 2–4 mm long. C. paniculata is found throughout New Zealand in lowland and subalpine forests. Coastal to land between 300 and 800 meters above sea level in tall forest or shrubland.