Clematis tibetana O. Ktze in Verh. Bot. Ver. Brandenb. 26: 172. 1885; Grey-Wilson in Kew Bull. 44: 46. 1989. C. vernayii C.E.C. Fischer in Kew Bull. 1937: 97. 1937.

Climbing shrubs, up to 2 m tall; stems pubescent, green when young, becoming purplish, finely pubescent to glabrous. Leaves pinnate, with 5 - 7(-9) leaflets; rachis and petioles pubescent; leaflets narrow-Ianceolate, acute, entire or deeply 2 - 5-fid, 1.3 - 5 x 0.4 - 2.5 cm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent beneath. Flowers axillary, solitary or 2 - 3(-5) together, nodding, bell-shaped, yellow or greenish yellow, flushed or spotted with rusty brown, bronze or purplish yellow outside; peduncles 0.3 - 7 cm long, usually rather sparsely pubescent; bracts similar to leaves, with only 3 - 5 leaflets; pedicels slender, 3 - 14 cm long, sparsely pubescent or glabrous. Sepals lanceolate to elliptic, acute or long-acuminate, 15 - 35 x 5 - 14 mm, moderately thick, leathery, glabrous or subglabrous outside, densely silky pubescent inside and on margins. Filaments 4 - 10 mm long, slightly hairy; anthers 1.5 - 3.5 mm long. Achenes silvery hairy, with ca 3.5 cm long feathery tails.

Fl. & Fr. Aug. - Sept.

Distrib. India: Alpine W. Himalayas, amongst bushes, along walls, riverside gravels and boulders, 3300 - 5000 m. Uttar Pradesh.

China (Tibet).

Notes. Grey-Wilson (l.c.) treats C. vemayii C.E.C. Fischer as a subspecies with 3 varieties, none of them occur in India, but are reported from Nepal and China (Tibet).