Clematis marmoraria

Detailed description

A low rupestral dioecious subshrub with slender taproot and several stems, spreading in suitable habitats by a succession of suckers. Stems perennial, c.1-2 mm diameter, up to 500 mm long, almost or quite glabrous and inconspicuously grooved. Underground part of suckers 40-500 mm long with 2-14 pairs of much reduced leaves (internodes 1-60 mm long); usually rooting and branching at some nodes. Aerial stems erect to decumbent, very short (40-100 mm) but longer in shade, internodes 1-40 mm long; usually sparingly branched. Underground leaves 1-5 mm long, entire to minutely lobed. Green leaves ± crowded, subcoriaceous to coriaceous, almost glabrous, up 40 mm long, living c.2 years before slowly decaying to base. Petioles 5-18 mm long, channelled, not twining. Laminae broad-ovate to angular-ovate in outline when fresh, variously dissected (with major segments ± ascending and overlapping) from multifid-multipartite to deeply 3-lobed to 3-foliolate; lobes or leaflets deeply incised 2-3 times (to bipinnate below in leaflets), upper surface of segments concave and ± bordered, ultimately small, obtuse to subacute; lateral leaflets short petioluled, oblique at base. Subfloral leaves 3-21 mm long. Inflorescence a solitary flower, axillary, ± fulvous pubescent; peduncles 25-75 mm long; bracts 1-2 pairs –lower pair (often lacking) basal, connate, blade c.2 mm long, minutely 3-lobed - upper pair 2.0-7.7 mm long, narrow-oblong to spathulate, entire or shallowly lobed. Male flower 20-30 mm diameter; sepals 5-8, white (slightly green-stained when young), thinly fulvous-silky without, glabrous within, 6-18 × 3.0-10.5 mm, obovate (occasionally elliptic); stamens 20-50, 5-9 mm long, anthers 1.0-1.8 mm long, ovate-oblong, connective produced into minute blunt apiculus; carpels 0. Female flower with slightly smaller sepals; stamens 8-13, anthers barren; carpels 20-50. Achene seed body ovoid, 3-4 mm long, puberulent, brown; style 15-30 mm long, pale fulvous-plumose