This
information courtesy of the Colorado Natural Areas Program
Family:
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup)
Other
Names:
oriental virginsbower, orange peel, lemon peel
USDA Code:
CLOR
Legal
Status:
Colorado Noxious Weed List B
Identification
Growth form:
Perennial herbaceous to woody vine.
Flower:
Flowers solitary, with four yellow sepals (petal-like
structures), often nodding.
Seeds/Fruit:
Each flower produces numerous feathery long-tailed achenes
(single seeded fruits) which are conspicuous as the fruits
mature.
Leaves:
Opposite leaves, ternate (having 3 leaflets).
Stems:
Vigorous climbing vines up to ten feet long.
Roots:
No
information available.
Seedling:
No
information available.
Other:
Flowers
are delicately scented.
Similar
Species
Exotics:
None
known.
Natives:
The
native virgin’s bower, Clematis ligusticifolia, has
white-sepaled flowers in clusters, and is much more common,
especially at lower elevations.
Impacts
Agricultural:
No information available.
Ecological:
In
the past 25 years Chinese clematis has spread especially
rapidly, becoming weedy and constituting a threat to young
trees and native shrubby and herbaceous species (Flora of
North America Editorial Committee 1997).
Habitat
and Distribution
General
requirements:
Most Clematis species prefer sunny,
well drained soils, although they may be shade tolerant to
some degree. In Utah, Chinese clematis is found in
sagebrush, mountain brush, and ruderal habitats up to 7,500
feet (Welsh et al. 1987).
Distribution:
Clematis
orientalis has been naturalized in the Rocky Mountains
since the late nineteenth century, and is now well
established in Utah and Colorado, scattered in several other
western states (Flora of North America Editorial Committee
1997). In Colorado, Chinese clematis is found in mountain
areas, south and central.
Historical:
Clematis species and hybrids are popular as ornamental
garden plants.
Biology/Ecology
Life cycle:
Perennial woody vine which flowers in summer to fall.
Mode of
reproduction:
Reproduces by seeds.
Seed
production:
No information available.
Dispersal:
Wind, water, man.
Integrated
Management Summary
Preventing the
spread of this species by eliminating seed production from
established stands. Remove young plants.
Chemical control seems to be best used at flowering.
References
Flora of
North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1997. Flora
of North America North of Mexico, Volume 3, Magnoliidae
and Hamamelidae. Oxford University Press, New York.
Welsh, S.L.,
N.D. Atwood, L.C. Higgins, S. Goodrich. 1987. A Utah
Flora. Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Brigham
Young University, Provo, Utah.
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