Clematis munroiana Wight, Illus. 1: 5, t. 1. 1831; Dunn in Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 1: 3. 1915 (repr. ed. 1: 2. 1957). C. smilacifolia auct. non Wallich; Hook. f. & Thomson in Fl. Brit. India 1: 3. 1872, p. p.

Shrubs, climbing; stems and branches glabrous. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate or· simple near flowering region; leaflets ovate or ovate-oblong or ovate-lanceolate, acute or obtuse, 5 - 7-nerved from base, entire or irregularly serrate, 4 - 12 x 2 - 8 cm, glabrous on both surfaces. Inflorescences axillary, 1 - 5 -flowered. Flowers nodding, deep purple, ca 4 cm across; pedicels up to 10 cm long. Sepals 4 - 5, spreading or reflexed from base, velvety tomentose and maroon with whitish margins on outside, glabrous inside. Filaments ls linear, constricted just below anthers, glabrous; connective much produced beyond anther-thecae. Achenes ovate, compressed, margined, bairy with ca 6 cm.long feathery tails.

Fl. june - Aug.; Fr. Oct- Nov.

Distrib. India: Subtropical forests of Western Ghats, 900 - 2000 m. Karnataka, kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Endemic.