Smaller perennial vine with delicate twining stems and variable leaves, both simple and compound. Beginning late spring and into summer, flowers are utilized by bumblebees and hummingbirds; they resemble inverted urns and have four sepals in shades of purple with curved, upturned tips. Seedheads look spidery, with green seeds that turn shades of red or brown and can remain interesting late into the year.
Native Plant Database
Header Photo: Mervin Wallace
Pitcher’s Leather Flower
Clematis pitcheri
Plant Type: Vines
Native Environment: Cliff, Savanna / Woodland
Season of Interest: Mid (May - June), Late (July - frost)
Main Color: Purple
Fall Color:
USDA PLANTS Range Map
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Photo: Mervin Wallace
Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Medium Sun/Average Shade
Soil
Moisture
Moderate
Nature Attracting
Hummingbird, Pollinators/Beneficial Insects
Wildlife Benefit
Food/Pollinators
Animal
Resistance
Size
Height:
5 to
10
feet
Spread:
3 to
4
feet
Size
Height: 5 to
10
feet
Spread: 3 to
4
feet
Size
Height: 5 to
10
feet
Spread: 3 to
4
feet
Typical Landscape Use
Where a small vine is needed, for instance in borders, native plant gardens, or rock gardens. Also suitable for containers.
Establishment and Care Instructions
Will grow in range of soils if well-drained and moisture is sufficient. Provide support if desired (though not necessary) and refrain from handling growing stems as they may break. If previous year's stems didn't die, cut back before new spring growth emerges.
Special Features
Ornamental Fruits / Seed Pods / Seed Heads
Special Usage
Containers
Basic Description
Where Should I Start?
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What’s the Next Step?
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Where Can I Find This Plant in Nature?
Learn about the Native Environment(s) inhabited by the plants in this database.