Clematis cavaleriei H. Léveillé & Porter; C. chinensis Retzius (1781), not Osbeck (1757); C. funebris H. Léveillé & Vaniot; C. minor Loureiro; C. oligocarpa H. Léveillé & Vaniot; C. sinensis Loureiro (1790).

Branches glabrous or sparsely puberulous. Leaflet blades 1.5--9.5 × 0.7--6.4 cm, both surfaces subglabrous or very sparsely puberulous only on basal veins. Axillary cymes usually paniclelike, many flowered. Sepals 6--13 × 1.8--3(--4) mm.

Scrub, slopes, along streams; 100--1500 m. S Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, S Henan, Hubei, Hunan, S Jiangsu, Jiangxi, S Shaanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, S Yunnan, Zhejiang [Japan (Ryukyu Islands), Vietnam].