celery-leaved clematis (Clematis apiifolia) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Celery-leaved clematis is an East Asian vine with small white flowers and feathery seed heads. Its toothed leaflets help distinguish it from sweet autumn clematis, whose leaflets usually have smooth edges. Handling celery-leaved clematis can irritate skin.

Appearance

Growth form: A deciduous vine that can climb about 8–13 ft (2.5–4 m).
Leaves: Leaves usually divide into three leaflets with toothed edges.
Fruit: The spent flowers develop silky, feathery seed heads.

Look-alikes

Sweet autumn clematisClematis terniflora

Celery-leaved clematis has clearly toothed leaflets; sweet autumn clematis usually has smooth-edged leaflets. Include the leaves in a photo.

Why they get mixed upBoth can cover supports with small white flowers.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: Sunny woodland edges
Open slopes
Range: Native to China, Korea, and Japan. It has been grown in gardens in northeast Ohio, where it seeded in aggressively.

Growing it

Care: Garden references describe it as a vine for sun and well-drained soil. After it spread through planting beds, one northeast Ohio garden stopped recommending it for planting there.
Toxicity: The plant can irritate skin when handled.

Name and classification

About the name: A form with leaves divided again into smaller leaflets, called kobotanzuru in Japan, is treated as a variety of this species.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed

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