swamp leather flower Ranunculaceae Clematis crispa

Leaf:Opposite, deciduous to nearly evergreen, simple, bifoliate, trifoliate, or pinnate; individual leaflets oval to nearly lanceolate with entire margins, usually lacking lobes but sometimes lobed near the tip; mostly glabrous.
Flower:Genus is usually dioecious; showy, 1 to 2 inches, nodding, white to lavender bell-shaped flowers with 4 pointed and recurved sepals; appearing spring to summer, and sometimes flowering twice.
Fruit:Small dry brown seeds with a long plume, borne in thin pompom-like heads.
Twig:Initially green, and changing to red-brown, ridged, wiry, mostly glabrous, climbs by twining.
Bark:Initially smooth and red-brown, later developing long splits.
Form:A creeping or low-climbing vine to 10 feet.

Notes: