Clematis acuminata
DC.,Syst. Nat. 1: 148. 1817 & Prodr. 1: 6. 1824; Hook. f. & Thomson in Fl. Brit. India 1: 5. 1872. C. acuminata var. wallichii and Val. sikkimensis Hook. f. & Thomson in Fl. Brit. India 1: 5 & 6. 1872.
Slender woody climbers; roots thick, tuberous; branches purplish red, ribbed,
glabrous or with a few scattered hairs. Leaves opposite, pinnately 3-foliolate, 13 -
18 cm
long; petioles ribbed, 5 - 7 cm long; leaflets ovate-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate,
subcuneate, rounded or subcordate at base, irregularly distantly serrate along margins,
acute to acuminate at apex, glossy, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, palmately 5-nerved;
lateral leaflets 5 -
9 x 2.5 -
4 cm, with 5 -
10 mm long petiolules; terminal leaflets 8 -
11 x
3.5 - 7.5 cm, with 5 - 10 mm long petiolules. Inflorescences axillary, trichotomously
branched panicles, few to many-flowered, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; peduncles 3
-
4 cm long, puberulous; bracts linear-lanceolate, 3 -
5 mm long; pedicels 2 -
3 cm long,
puberulous. Flowers completely tomentose in bud, 2 -
3 cm across when fully open, pale
yellow. Sepals 4, ovate or oblong-lanceolate, acute, erect or recurved at tip, 10 -
17 x 4
-
7 mm, yellow or pale cream-coloured, completely pubescent or only along the margins
outside, puberulous inside. Filaments linear, up to 1 cm long, densely hairy; anthers
straight, ca 3 mm long. Achenes ovate, compressed, ca 3 cm long, silky hairy; style up
to 2 cm long, feathery-plumose, longer towards base.
KEY TO THE SUBSPECIES
| 1a. Leaflets oblong-lanceolate; sepals tomentose all over outside | 1.1. acuminata |
| b. Leaflets ovate-lanceolate; sepals tomentose only along margins outside | 1.2. sikkimensis |
