Clematis viticella L.

A deciduous, partially woody climber, growing 8 to 12 ft high; stems slender, ribbed, and slightly downy when young. Leaves 4 or 5 in. long, pinnate, with the primary divisions trifoliolate; leaflets not toothed, but frequently two- or three-lobed, lance-shaped to broadly ovate, 3⁄4 to 21⁄2 in. long. Flowers solitary on stalks 2 to 4 in. long, or several on a branched stalk; each 11⁄2 in. across; sepals obovate, blue, purple, or rosy purple. Seed-vessels broad and short, with very small tails devoid of the feathery covering so common in Clematis. Bot. Mag., t. 565.

Native of S. Europe; cultivated here since the sixteenth century. The type and the double-flowered form were grown in 1597 by Gerard, who says, ‘they grow in my garden at Holborn and flourish exceedingly’. Many charming varieties have been raised in gardens, the double-flowered one just mentioned (‘Plena’) being one of the least attractive, owing to an excessive multiplication of the sepals, which gives the flower a heavy, lumpy aspect.

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

Of the cultivars mentioned on pages 664–5, the following were recommended for the Award of Garden Merit in 1984: ‘Abundance’, ‘Alba Luxurians’, ‘Kermesina’, ‘Royal Velours’. Also on the recommended list were: ‘Etoile Violette’, with deep purple flowers opening flat and about 4 in. wide with cream-coloured stamens; and ‘Venosa Violacea’, with infolded sepals which are white veined with purple at the centre, purple at the edge. Both these are obviously hybrids.