Chaparral Clematis, Clematis lasiantha

About Chaparral Clematis (Clematis lasiantha) 38 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Chaparral Clematis (Clelmatis lasiantha) is a creamy-white flowering vine, belonging to the Ranunculaceae family, of the large Clematis genus. It is found on the Pacific coast of North America, from the San Francisco Bay Area southwards into Baja California. It extends as far east as the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada, at elevations below 5900 feet. It grows on hillsides, in chaparral, and in open woodland.

Its leaves are three-lobed and generally grow groups of three to five leaflets, the largest leaves on the plant normally being between two and three inches in size. It can be distinguished from the similar (but much more widely ranging) Virgin's Bower (Clematis ligusticifolia) by the fact that C. lasiantha normally only has one flower on each stalk, and at most three, whereas C. ligusticifolia has multiple flowers on each stem. Virgin's Bower is more likely to be found along streams or in other wet places, while the C. lasiantha tolerates more open, drier places.

Chaparral Clemitis is easy to grow, and grows fast up to 15 feet if there are trees or bushes that it can wind through. It prefers part shade but will tolerate full shade, though grow more slowly. Best to plant in shaded, rocky, well-draining slopes.

It tolerates summer water up to 1x per month but shouldn't need it if properly sited. In the drier parts of its range, it does best on north-facing slopes.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Vine, Perennial herb

Size

15 ft tall

Dormancy

Summer Semi-Deciduous

Flower Color

Cream, White

Flowering Season

Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported

Insects, especially bees and butterflies, are attracted to the flowers.
Butterfly host plants

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 9 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Fatal Metalmark Calephelis nemesisCalephelis nemesis

Meske's Pero Moth Pero meskariaPero meskaria

Fall Webworm Hyphantria cuneaHyphantria cunea

Omnivorous Looper Sabulodes aegrotataSabulodes aegrotata

Tamarack Looper Eupithecia misturataEupithecia misturata

Eupithecia maestosaEupithecia maestosa

Orthodes novercaOrthodes noverca

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun, Part Shade, Full Shade

Moisture

Very Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 38

Ease of Care

Very Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 15° F

Soil Drainage

Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description

Tolerates a variety of soils including clay and sand. Soil PH: 5.4 - 7.2

Common uses

Deer Resistant

Companion Plants

Prefers to have trees or large shrubs to climb up, such as Madrone (Arbutus menziesii), Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), Dogwood (Cornus spp.), Silktassel Bush (Garrya spp.), Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), Tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus), Pine (Pinus spp.), Oak (Quercus spp.), Elderberry (Sambucus spp.)

Sunset Zones?

7*, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting

Site Type

Shady, rocky slopes

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 7.6" - 82.6", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 2.78", Coldest Month: 33.4" - 55.2", Hottest Month: 53.4" - 80.4", Humidity: 0.40" - 28.76", Elevation: 1" - 10032"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Pipestem Clematis

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Chaparral Clematis

Clematis lasiantha

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Chaparral ClematisClematis lasiantha

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Chaparral Clematis

Clematis lasiantha