Morefield's Leather Flower

Clematis morefieldii produces woolly-haired vine runners up to 5 metres (16 ft) long. The leaves are compound, each made up of several leaflets and one or more tendrils for grabbing objects around the plant. The leaflets have velvety undersides. The inflorescences occur in the axils of the leaves. Each has up to five flowers which have green-tinged pink sepals with curling tips arranged in an urn shape. The flower is thick and hairy in texture. There are no petals. The flower is up to 2.5 centimeters in length. The plant yields fruits which may reach 3.5 centimeters long including their plume-like tips.

This species of Clematis was discovered in 1982, in a vacant lot on Round Top Mountain in Madison County, Alabama, by 21-year-old botany student James Morefield. It was described as a new species in 1987 and named for him. The plant was believed to be an Alabama endemic when it was given endangered status in 1992. Collections were later made in adjacent southern Tennessee. It grows in wooded habitat dominated by smoketree (Cotinus obovatus), often near streams or seeps. It is a climbing plant which attaches to shrubs and rocks for support. The limestone substrate is very rocky with large boulders.