Japanese Virgin's-bower
Clematis terniflora
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 65%
- Height
- 15–30 feet
- Spread
- 15–30 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to average
Do not plant. Listed invasive in Louisiana.
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous or semi-evergreen
Not yet recorded · Bloom
Recorded in 35 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
10CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Clematis
- Alcathoe caudataClematis Borer, Clematis Clearwing Moth
- Eutrapela clematariaCurved-Tooth Geometer, Purplish Brown Looper
- Horisme intestinataBrown Bark Carpet
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Platynota idaeusalisTufted Apple-Bud Moth
- Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
- Pseudothyris sepulchralisMournful Thyris
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Thyris maculataSpotted Thyris
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimPlant details
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–9a
- Flower color
- Cream or white
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Cream or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 5a–9a” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “15–30 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous or semi-evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “15–30 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Clematis dioscoreifolia; Japanese Virgin's bower; Sweet Autumn Virgins Bower
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| LA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Louisiana occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications