Clematis afoliata
Common names
leafless clematis
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Lianes & Related Trailing Plants - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
Green, White
Detailed description
Stems grow up to 3m long and are stiff, wiry and grooved. These stems often form large bundles with an appearance like a large tangled wire or thick string. Branches are 3-4 mm in diametre and finely grooved and bound together by leaf tendrils. The leaves are severely reduced to petioles.
Habitat
Often found in open rocky shrublands and, in South Island also in tussock grasslands.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT
Threats
Not Threatened although in some regions the open rocky habitats are subject to development pressure. Competition with naturalised plants also poses a threat to regeneration of this plant in some areas.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Ranunculaceae
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October - November
Fruiting
December - January
Life cycle and dispersal
Pappate achenes are dispersed by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Other information
Plant of the Month
This plant has been featured as a Plant of the Month – see Trilepidea: NZPCN newsletter for August 2016 for the full story.
Etymology
clematis: From the Greek klema ‘vine’, alluding to the vine-like habit of many species
afoliata: From the Latin a + folius ‘without leaves’, ‘leafless’
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
CLEAFO
Chromosome number
2n = 16
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: DP
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by P.J. de Lange for NZPCN (1 June 2013)
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Clematis afoliata Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/clematis-afoliata/ (Date website was queried)