Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) • Earth.com

Golden clematis

(Clematis tangutica)

galery
en

Description

Clematis tangutica, the golden clematis, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae.It is found from Central Asia through to most of China, and it has been introduced to western Canada, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland, and the South Island of New Zealand. Its cultivars 'Bill MacKenzie' and 'Lambton Park', both members of the Tangutica Group, have 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. The genus name Clematis is from Ancient Greek κληματίς : clēmatís, ("a climbing plant") from κλήμα : klḗma – 'twig, sprout, tendril'. Over 250 species and cultivars are known, often named for their originators or particular characteristics. The genus is composed of mostly vigorous, woody, climbing vines / lianas. The woody stems are quite fragile until several years old. Leaves are opposite and divided into leaflets and leafstalks that twist and curl around supporting structures to anchor the plant as it climbs. Some species are shrubby, while others, like C. recta, are herbaceous perennial plants. The cool temperate species are deciduous, but many of the warmer climate species are evergreen. They grow best in cool, moist, well-drained soil in full sun Clematis species are mainly found throughout the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, rarely in the tropics. Clematis leaves are food for the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera species, including the willow beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria). The timing and location of flowers varies; spring-blooming clematis flower on side shoots of the previous year's stems, summer/fall blooming clematis bloom only on the ends of new stems, and twice-flowering clematis do both.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order:Ranunculales
Family:Ranunculaceae
Genus:Clematis
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