A deciduous climber up to 12 ft high; stems greyish, ribbed, clothed when young with appressed down. Leaves ternate or pinnate, consisting of three, five, or seven leaflets. Leaflets mostly ovate in main outline, but coarsely toothed or three-lobed, 1⁄2 to 11⁄2 in. long; both stalk and blade slightly downy. Flowers white, 11⁄2 to 2 in. wide, borne usually two to four together from the joints, each one on a downy slender stalk 11⁄2 to 3 in. long. Sepals four, spreading, obovate, downy outside. Seed-vessel glabrous, with a feathery style nearly 1 in. long.
Native of W. China, where it was first found by Wilson in the province of Szechwan, afterwards by Purdom in Kansu, and by Forrest in Yunnan. Introduced by Wilson in 1910. It belongs to the same group as C. chrysocoma and montana (both of which have uniformly trifoliolate leaves) and is a graceful, free-blooming, hardy clematis. Flowers in June.