Strong, deciduous climber with woody base, 3–5 m high. Leaves biternate or flammuliform; leaflets 9–15 (rarely more), broadly ovate to narrowly oblong, 1.5–4 cm long, entire or sometimes 2- or 3-lobed, acute to obtuse, ± coriaceous, glabrescent. Flowers many, in large axillary and terminal dichasial panicles, bisexual, 2–3 cm diam., fragrant. Tepals oblong, 8–14 mm long, glabrous above, glabrescent below, with narrow, white-tomentose margin, white. Stamens 5–10 mm long; filaments linear, glabrous; anthers linear, 3–4 mm long, obtuse, without appendage; staminodes absent. Achenes strongly compressed, ovoid, 5–6 mm long, 4–5 mm wide, dark brown with paler margins, appressed-pubescent to glabrous; awn 2–5 cm long.

Flowers December–March.

Naturalised.

Native in southern Europe, the Mediterranean region and south-western Asia. Grown as an ornamental, it has escaped and established in a few places in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia, and weakly naturalised near Geelong, suburban Melbourne and possibly Mitta Mitta in Victoria.

S.A.: roadside near Cherry Gardens, R. Bates 2050 (AD); Nangkita, near Mount Compass, R. Bates 6567 (AD); Eden Hills, S of Adelaide, B.J. Blaylock 1666 (AD, CANB).

Vic.: c. 4 km W of Geelong P.O., 5 Jan. 1993, M. Trengrove (MEL); Mitta Mitta, Jan. 1923, H.B. Williamson (MEL).

Herb. Linn. No. 712.12; lecto: LINN, fide M. Qaiser, in Y.J. Nasir & S.I. Ali (ed.), Fl. Pakistan 166: 5 (1984).

B. Fretwell, Clematis 106 (1989).

Eichler, Hj. & Jeanes, J.A. (2007). Clematis, in Wilson, A.J.G. (ed.), Flora of Australia 2: 297–310. (ABRS: Canberra/CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne).

Linnaeus, C. (1753). Species Plantarum 1: 544. (Laurentii Salvius: Stockholm).

Flora of Australia Volume 2 (2007).