Clematis
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Clematis is a genus of mostly vigorous climbing lianas, with attractive flowers. Some species are shrubby, and some others are herbaceous perennials. They are found throughout the temperate regions of both hemispheres, and also in mountains in the tropics. The cool temperate species are deciduous, but many of the warmer climate species are evergreen.
Most species are simply known as Clematis in English, while some are also known as traveller's joy, leather flower, vase vine and virgin's bower, the last three being names used for North American species.
One recent classification recognised 297 species of clematis. Unsurprisingly, therefore, modern taxonomists subdivide the genus. M. Johnson divided it into 19 sections, several with subsections; C. Grey-Wilson divided it into 9 subgenera, several with sections and subsections within them. Several of the subdivisions are fairly consistent between different classifications, for example all Grey-Wilson's subgenera are used as sections by Johnson.
Subgenera of Clematis according to Grey-Wilson:
- Clematis, Cheiropsis, Flammula, Archiclematis, Campanella, Atragene, Tubulosae, Pseudanemone, Viorna
- C. addisonii - Addison's Leather Flower
- C. albicoma - Whitehair Leather Flower
- C. alpina - Alpine Clematis
- C. baldwinii - Pine Hyacinth
- C. bigelovii - Bigelow Clematis
- C. campaniflora - Portuguese Clematis
- C. caracasana - Clematis
- C. catesbyana - Satin curls
- C. coactilis - Virginia Whitehair Leather Flower
- C. columbiana - British Columbia Virgin's-bower
- C. crispa - Curly Virginsbower
- C. dioica - Cabellos de Angel
- C. drummondii - Drummond Clematis
- C. florida - Asian Clematis
- C. fremontii - Fremont's Leather Flower
- C. glaucophylla - Whiteleaf Leather Flower
- C. hirsutissima - Hairy Clematis
- C. x jackmanii - Jackman's Clematis
- C. lasiantha - Pipestem Clematis
- C. ligusticifolia - Virgin's Bower
- C. marmoraria - New Zealand Dwarf Clematis
- C. montana - Anemone Clematis
- C. morefieldii - Huntsville Vasevine
- C. occidentalis - Western Blue Virginsbower
- C. ochroleuca - Curlyheads
- C. orientalis - Chinese Clematis
- C. palmeri - Palmer Clematis
- C. pauciflora - Ropevine Clematis
- C. pitcheri - Bluebill
- C. recta - Ground Clematis
- C. reticulata - Netleaf Leather Flower
- C. socialis - Alabama Leather Flower
- C. tangutica - Golden Clematis
- C. terniflora - Leatherleaf Clematis
- C. texensis - Scarlet Leather Flower
- C. versicolor - Manycolored Leather Flower
- C. viorna - Vasevine
- C. virginiana - Devil's Darning Needles, Virginia Bower
- C. vitalba - Traveller's Joy or Old Man's Beard
- C. viticaulis - Millboro Leather Flower
- C. viticella - Italian Clematis