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Home / Browse / Clematis / Western Blue Virginsbower (var. occidentalis)
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Pictured: Clematis occidentalis — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Ranunculaceae family

Western Blue Virginsbower (var. occidentalis) Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis variety

Native

Western Blue Virginsbower (var. occidentalis) is a perennial vine native to Canada and the lower 48 states.

More about this plant

Clematis occidentalis is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common names western blue virginsbower or purple clematis. It is native to much of southern Canada and the northern United States. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 5 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Vine / climber layer — Sits in the vine of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~6 caterpillar species

Clematis supports ~6 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a modest genus.

Recorded feeding on Clematis in North America, including:

Alcathoe autumnalis · clearwing moth Alcathoe carolinensis · Clematis Borer Alcathoe caudata · Clematis Clearwing Moth Alcathoe pepsioides · clearwing moth Alcathoe verrugo · clearwing moth Calephelis nemesis · Fatal Metalmark
+ 8 more species →
Epinotia pulsatillana · leafroller moth Eupithecia maestosa · geometer (inchworm) moth Eupithecia misturata · geometer (inchworm) moth Eupithecia satyrata · Satyr Pug Eutrapela clemataria · Curve-Toothed Geometer Horisme intestinata · Brown Bark Carpet Hyphantria cunea · tiger moth Orgyia leucostigma · White-Marked Tussock Moth
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (12) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[09] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[10] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[11] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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PlantKey’s data is open under CC BY-SA 4.0 — free to reuse and adapt, with attribution and the same licence. Photos keep their own per-image licence + credit (see Sources above).

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