Clematis cunninghamii
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Lianes & Related Trailing Plants - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Scrambling liane with pale green flowers, smooth-edged or with 1-2 sharp-tipped lobes leaves which are covered in brownish down when young
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Evergreen woody climber with main stems to 3 m or more tall; branchlets finely grooved, pilose when young. Leaves 3-foliate, opposite; petioles c. 3 cm long, pilose-pubescent. Leaflets pubescent-pilose with fulvous hairs especially beneath; on petiolules c. 1 cm long; midvein and secondary veins visible above, more obvious below; leaflet lamina 1.5-4 x 1-2 cm, ovate, entire or crenately toothed or lobed, submembranous, dark green to yellowish-green, tip acute, base usually cordate, undersides paler. Juvenile leaves larger, thinner, irregularly lobed and sometimes serrate. Inflorescences unisexual, conspicuous, in axillary dichasial cymes, few-flowered, up to 8 cm long, inflorescence bracts linear-oblong, paired, united, inserted above middle of peduncle, fulvous. Flowers slightly fragrant. Male 1-2(-2.5) cm diam., sepals 5-8, narrow-oblong to elliptic-oblong, subacute, imbricate, glabrous above, hairy beneath, 9-12(-22) x 2-5 mm, yellowish; stamens many, anthers 0.7-1 mm long, filaments glabrous., up to 1 cm long. Female 5-8 sepals, imbricate, yellowish, glabrous above, hairy beneath, elliptic-ovate, 8-13(-15) x 2-3(-6) mm; staminodes few. Achenes hairy, elliptic, narroweed to apex, compressed, margin thickened and distinct, surface finely ridged, 2.6-3.4(-3.6) mm long, styles 20-26(-30) cm long at fruiting, white-plumose for most of length, short hairs at base.
Similar taxa
Similar to other climbing yellow-or green-flowered clematis species that have large leaves. It can be distinguished most easily from C. foetida by the strong pleasant smell of that species (and also by the hairy rather than downy sepals and petals). C. forsteri has young leaves that are either glabrous underneath, or occ. with white (rather than brownish) hairs (the anthers are also larger in this species).
Distribution
Endemic. North Island. South to Hawke’s Bay in the east, to ?? in the west.
Habitat
Lowland forest and forest margins
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.
- 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
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Clematis parviflora A.Cunn, Clematis hillii Colenso
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
September-November
Fruiting
November-January
Life cycle and dispersal
Pappate achenes are dispersed by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Other information
Etymology
clematis: From the Greek klema ‘vine’, alluding to the vine-like habit of many species
cunninghamii: Named after Allan Cunningham (1791–1839) who was an English botanist and explorer, primarily known for his travels to Australia (New South Wales) and New Zealand to collect plants. Author of Florae Insularum Novae Zelandiae Precursor, 1837–40 (Introduction to the flora of New Zealand).
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.
CLECUN
Chromosome number
2n = 16
Previous conservation statuses
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.
- 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.
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Regional conservation statuses
Auckland: 2025 | Regionally At Risk – Regionally Declining | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Auckland conservation status information is sourced from the “Conservation status of vascular plant species in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland” Simpkins E et al. (2025) report.
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961. Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer, Wellington
Eagle, A. 2000. Eagle’s complete trees and shrubs of NZ. Te Papa Press, Wellington
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
Webb, C.J. & Simpson, M.J.A. 2001. Seeds of NZ gymnosperms and dicotyledons. Manuka Press, Christchurch.
Webb, C.J; Sykes, W.R; Garnock-Jones, P.J. 1988. Flora of NZ, Vol. IV. DSIR, Christchurch
Attribution
Description adapted from Allan (1961), Webb et al (1988), Eagle (2000) and Webb and Simpson (2001).
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.