Clematis forsteri J.F.Gmel.
Evergreen woody climber. Lvs glabrous or sparsely hairy beneath, or rarely the youngest sparsely hairy, 3-foliolate, 3-10-(16) × (3)-4-8-(14) cm; leaflets coriaceous, very variable in shape and lobing, from lanceolate to broadly ovate, entire to crenate to deeply pinnatifid to 2-pinnatisect to pinnate; petiole (1)-2-5-(7) cm long. Fls unisexual, solitary or 2-4-(6) clustered in lf axils or in dichasial cymes of up to 6. Bracts paired, connate, usually inserted about or below middle of pedicel. ♂ fls: sepals (5)-6-(8), imbricate, pale yellow, greenish yellow or rarely greenish white, glabrous or sparsely silky hairy above, silky hairy to hairy beneath, lanceolate to ovate to narrow-oblong, 10-20-(30) × 2-8 mm; anthers 2-3 mm long; filaments glabrous. ♀ fls: sepals similar to ♂, 10-20-(25) × 3-6-(10) mm; staminodes few. Achenes hairy or glabrous, (2)-3-4-(5) mm long. Style (1)-2-3.5 cm long at fruiting.
Key
N.: throughout except N. Auckland; S.: Nelson, Marlborough, N. Westland, Canterbury, N. Otago.
Endemic.
Lowland forest and scrub, especially forest margins.
FL Sep-Nov FT Nov-Jan.
C. australis, C. forsteri, C. hookeriana and C. petriei, as treated by Allan (1961), have been united here under the earliest name, C. forsteri. The C. forsteri complex is highly variable, and the variation apparently has a strong environmental as well as genetic component.
C. forsteri is distinguished from C. foetida and C. cunninghamii by its slender anthers > 2 mm long, its fewer-flowered panicles, and usually glabrous lvs. It is distinguished from C. paniculata by its smaller, usually yellowish or greenish white fls with fewer stamens and carpels, and its smaller, thinner, usually more dissected leaflets.
Allan (1961) distinguished C. australis, C. forsteri, C. hookeriana, and C. petriei as follows:
