[3] This species of Clematis was discovered in 1982, in a vacant lot on Round Top Mountain in Madison County, Alabama, by 21-year-old botany student James Morefield.

[5] It grows in wooded habitat dominated by smoketree (Cotinus obovatus), often near streams or seeps.

[9] Clematis morefieldii produces woolly-haired vine runners up to 5 metres (16 ft) long.

Each has up to five flowers which have green-tinged pink sepals with curling tips arranged in an urn shape.

This area, on the outskirts of Huntsville, was experiencing significant real estate development expansion.

Threats listed at the time included construction and maintenance of roads, residential development, herbicides, and potentially the collection of specimens by wildflower enthusiasts and horticulturalists.

[5] More research is being done regarding the life history of this plant and its ecology, including potentially damaging insects that may attack it.