Alpine clematis

The habitats of the alpine clematis are forests and shrub thickets along riverbanks and the rocky cliffs of Central Europe.

Alpine clematis grows successfully in the Baltic countries and to the south of Saint Petersburg as far as the steppe zone. It is a climber reaching up to 3 m in height, attaching itself to supports with long twining petioles and hanging from them in dense garlands. Leaves are ternate or biternate, leaflets 2-5 cm long, pointed at the apex and serrate along the margin.

The flowers, consisting of four large sepals and small petals, sit on thin pedicels. In shape they are broadly bell-shaped, 2-6 cm in diameter, azure-blue or violet-blue in color. Each sepal is ovate-elliptic with an acute tip. On the outside and along the edge they are slightly pubescent. The petals themselves are half the size of the sepals, spatulate in shape, less decorative or even entirely inconspicuous against the bright, beautifully colored sepals.

Alpine clematis blooms in May—June. Numerous fluffy fruits gathered in a head ripen in August-September.

There are varieties (forms) with pink and white flowers.