Clematis

Celamtis Paniculata – Puawananga

Clematis vines in the Tangihua forest are found……

On the lodge entrance road and off some of the tracks. They are usually quite high up in the trees and best spotted when flowering.

Usually only the vines can be seen at ground level and they tend to grow up only, unlike bush lawyer and others which will grow down or along the ground.

Clematis Description

Clematis is a vine that they tend to grow up from the base of a tree compared to others which grow down from the tree or along the ground.

Clematis can up to 12m in height, and once reaching the upper canopy or adequate light will produce leaves and flowers. Clematis then tends to spread across the tree tops. The vine can be as big as 150mm through. To grow and climb Clematis uses touch sensitive leaf stalks. When they come in contact with a branch, they automatically wrap around it. This gives the plant a firm hold on the tree for the next stage.

Clematis is a world wide with over 250 varieties. Currently, botanists accept New Zealand has nine endemic clematis species.

New Zealand Clematis species are unusual as they have separate male and female plants (dioecious)

Clematis has distinct juvenile and adult stages. The leaves of seedlings and juveniles are much narrower.

Other varieties of Clematis in the North

C. foetida, peculiarly named by a French botanist, for it is the opposite to foetid. This species is also found throughout the country. The flowers are yellow and are not nearly as conspicuous as those of C. paniculata.

Flowers and leaves

The dark and shiny leaves are hand shaped with the leaves as three fingers.

Clematis flowers in early spring, the male flowers are pure white 50-100mm wide, quite obvious with a strong smell. The seed heads are white and fluffy. The seeds are windblown not unlike thistles.

Forest role

Clematis provides nectar for Tui and honey bees. Kokako will eat the entire flower and in spring Kereru will eat the leaves.

There are a number of insects which also live on the vines.

Significance to Maori

Oral traditions say that white-flowered puawānanga (clematis) is the child of Puanga (Rigel, the top star in Orion) and Rehua (Antares in Scorpio).

Puanga’s rising in June marks the beginning of winter, and the rising of Rehua in December signals summer – puawānanga blooms in the months between them.

Garlands were made from the flowers.