Alpine clematis

Description

Clematis alpina, the Alpine clematis, is a flowering deciduous vine of the genus Clematis. Like many members of that genus, it is prized by gardeners for its showy flowers. It bears 1 to 3-inch spring flowers on long stalks in a wide variety of colors.C. alpina is native to Europe; in the United States it grows best in American Horticultural Society zones 9 to 6, which are generally found in the southern USA. Cultivars include the pale pink 'Willy,' dark blue 'Helsingborg,' and lavender blue 'Pamela Jackman.Clematis alpina 'Pamela Jackman' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Clematis is a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids have been popular among gardeners, beginning with Clematis × jackmanii, a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars are being produced constantly. They are mainly of Chinese and Japanese origin. Most species are known as clematis in English, while some are also known as traveller's joy, a name invented for the sole British native, C. vitalba, by the herbalist John Gerard; virgin's bower for C. terniflora, C. virginiana, and C. viticella; old man's beard, applied to several with prominent seedheads; leather flower for those with fleshy petals; or vase vine for the North American Clematis viorna.