Western White Clematis
Clematis ligusticifolia
Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae)
Western White Clematis often forms dense mats draped over shrubs, small trees, and even houses. Seed plumes from this and other clematis make a good fire starter. Lore has it that crushed roots of the plant placed in the nostrils of tired horses revived them.
stamen -- the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower; The stamen consists of an anther supported by a filament.
A leaf is compound when multiple leaflets are on the same stem.
A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.
achene -- a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. For example, a rose hip holds a few achenes.
In an opposite leaf arrangement the leaves come in pairs with one leaf on each side of a stem.
Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom.
Like the teeth on a saw, leaves and other surfaces can have toothed edges.
pinnate -- A compound leaf with two rows of leaflets.
leaflets -- Each little leaf-like thing in a compound leaf is a leaflet.
lanceolate -- Lance-shaped. Long, wider in the middle.