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Swamp Leatherflower

Clematis crispa

Found in marshes, tidal and non-tidal swamps, floodplain forests, disturbed wet or moist areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

51
Strong

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
6–10 feet
Spread
3–6 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 4.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 5 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

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At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
Spring and summer

Recorded in 12 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

12CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Clematis

  • Alcathoe caudataClematis Borer, Clematis Clearwing Moth
  • Eupithecia misturataInsignificant Pug
  • Eupithecia satyrataSatyr Pug
  • 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
Show all 12
  • Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
  • Thyris maculataSpotted Thyris
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
9BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Clematis

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Ranunculaceae
Hardiness
Zones 6a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Blue, pink, purple or white

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Marsh Clematis; Southern Leather Flower; Swamp Leather Flower

Conservation status

Virginia rankS3
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources