Clematis socialis Kral
Alabama Leatherflower
Federal Protection: Listed Endangered
State Protection: Endangered
Global Rank: G1
State Rank: S1
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP 2015 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): Yes
SWAP 2025 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): Yes
2025 SGCN Priority Tier: Highest Conservation Concern
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 3
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Grassy openings in flatwoods of mostly lowland oaks and red maple
Perennial herb with leaning stems 8 - 20 inches (20 - 50 cm) tall, often forming dense colonies of many stems. Lower and middle leaves 1.2 - 6 inches (3 - 15 cm) long, simple, opposite, linear to lance-shaped, with short or no leaf stalks. Upper leaves opposite, with 3 - 5 leaflets, each leaflet shaped like one of the lower leaves. Flowers are 0.8 - 1.2 inches (2 - 3 cm) long, usually solitary, nodding at the tip of a long stalk, bell-shaped, with 4 blue or purple sepals spreading or curving upwards at the tips; there are no petals. Individual fruits are about 1 inch (2.5 - 3 cm) long including the curved and elongated beak, flattened, hairy, grouped into a “curly-head,” and held at the tip of a long stalk.
Four common species of Leather Flower (Clematis crispa, C. glaucophylla, C. reticulata, and C. viorna) occur in Georgia. They are climbing or sprawling vines with all leaves (both upper and lower) having 3 - 9 leaflets. Clematis glaucophylla leaves are pale and waxy on the lower surface. None of these common species form colonies of low, erect plants with single- or few-flowered stems.
Three other rare species of Clematis occur in Georgia:
Fremont's Leather Flower (Clematis fremontii) occurs in Coosa Valley flatwoods (Shortleaf Pine-Blackjack Oak-Post Oak woodlands with clayey soils over limestone or calcareous shale) and pine plantations and utility and highway rights-of-way in this habitat. For more informatin, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/editprofile?group=plants&es_id=17110
Morefield's Leatherflower (Clematis morefieldii) occurs in limestone woodlands in Walker County. For more information, see: https://georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=34963
Curlyheads (Clematis ochroleuca) occurs in dry woods with basic soils in Columbia, Elbert, Franklin, and Stephens Counties. The entire plant, including the erect non-vining stem, is covered with long, white hairs; its flowers are pale purple with yellowish tips.
Sunny, grassy openings in Coosa Valley flatwoods with wet to moist, circumneutral to basic, silty-clay soils.
Alabama Leather Flower reproduces vegetatively by sprouting from an extensive network of underground stems (rhizomes). It also reproduces sexually, although less successfully. Successful flowering depends on adequate sunlight, which is often lacking due to shading by other plants. The flowers require insects – primarily bees – to effect cross-pollination, but apparently insects do not visit the flowers frequently enough or often fail to complete pollination when they do. Even when flowering and fruiting is successful and seeds are produced, the seeds are heavily eaten by mice. In spite of these reproductive challenges, preliminary allozyme studies found high levels of genetic diversity in some populations of Alabama Leather Flower, possibly reflecting different conditions in the recent past.
Surveys are best conducted during flowering and fruiting (late April–May); plants are hard to see among tall grasses but the “curly-head” fruits are distinctive all summer.
Floyd County, Georgia, and 3 counties in northeastern Alabama.
Inappropriate roadside right-of-way maintenance, including mowing and grading during flowering and fruiting and indiscriminate use of herbicides. Invasion by exotic pest plants. Encroachment by woody shrubs in the absence of fire or other natural disturbance.
| Threat 1 | Threat 2 | Threat 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Threat | Residential & commercial development | Natural system modifications | Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases |
| Specific Threat | None | None | None |
Clematis socialis is ranked S1 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. It is listed as Endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and by the State of Georgia. Only one natural population with approximately 200 plants is known in Georgia; it occurs on state conservation land. Two conservation plantings have been made in Floyd County, both on land protected by a conservation easement.
Protect plants from clearing, development, and use of herbicides. Avoid mowing during growing season. Use hand-clearing or prescribed fire to control competing woody plants and to create sunny openings. Eradicate exotic pest plant species.
Boyd, R.S. and C.D. Hilton. 1994. Ecologic studies of the endangered species Clematis socialis Kral. Castanea 59: 31-40. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4033760?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
Chafin, L.G. 2007. Field guide to the rare plants of Georgia. State Botanical Garden of Georgia and University of Georgia Press, Athens.
GADNR. 2019. Element occurrence records for Clematis socialis. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Social Circle, Georgia.
Goertzen, L.R. and R.S. Boyd. 2007. Genetic Diversity and Clonality in the Federally Endangered Plant Clematis socialis Kral (Ranunculaceae). Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 134(4): 433-440. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/20063939.pdf?ab_segments= 0%252Fbasic_SYC-5055%252Ftest&refreqid=excelsior%3A6abdd74e16f4454f731d7c85fd7edf62
Govus, T.E. 1999. Survey for Clematis socialis and significant calcareous flatwoods. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Social Circle, Georgia.
Kral, R. 1982. A new Clematis from northeastern Alabama. Rhodora 84: 285-291. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23311877?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
Kral, R. 1983. A report on some rare, threatened, or endangered forest-related vascular plants of the South. Technical Publication R8-TP2. United States Forest Service, Atlanta.
NatureServe. 2019. Clematis socialis comprehensive report. NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName= Clematis%20socialis
Timmerman-Erskine, M. 1992. Reproductive ecology of Clematis socialis. Auburn University. Thesis, Auburn, Alabama.
Timmerman-Erskine, M. and R.S. Boyd. 1999. Reproductive biology of the endangered plant Clematis socialis (Ranunculaceae). Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 126(2): 107-116.
USFWS. 2019. Alabama leather flower (Clematis socialis) species profile and related documents. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?sId=6300
Wall, M.A, M. Timmerman-Erskine, R.S. Boyd. 2003. Conservation impact of climatic variability on pollination of the federally endangered plant, Clematis socialis (Ranunculaceae). Southeastern Naturalist 2(1): 11-24. http://www.auburn.edu/academic/cosam/faculty/biology/boyd/lab/Wall_et_al_2003.pdf
Ware, R.T., Sr. 1999. Summary report: survey for Clematis socialis and other rare plants of the significant calcareous or Coosa flatwoods in the Ridge and Valley province of northwest Georgia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Social Circle, Georgia.
Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-Atlantic States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm
Linda G. Chafin
L. Chafin, June 2007: original account.
K. Owers, Jan. 2010: updated status and ranks, added pictures.
L. Chafin, Jan 2020: updated original account..
