categoryZClimbers Climbers List 

ORANGE-PEEL CLEMATIS

CHINESE CLEMATIS

Clematis tangutica

Buttercup Family [Ranunculaceae]

Flowers:
month8jun month8june month8jul month8july month8aug month8sep month8sept

Pappus: pappusZpossible (off-white, long, compound)
pappus8oct pappus8nov pappus8dec

category
category8Climbers
status
statusZneophyte
flower
flower8yellow
 
inner
inner8brown
 
morph
morph8actino
 
petals
petalsZ4
 
type
typeZbell
 
stem
stem8round
 
smell
smell8coconut
coconut
toxicity
toxicityZmedium
 
contact
contactZmedium
 

10th Sept 2014, Rimrose Nature Reserve, Sefton, Merseyside. Photo: © RWD
A rampant climber which scrambles up other shrubs and trees up to 4m. (The red berries belong to the supporting tree).


10th Sept 2014, Rimrose Nature Reserve, Sefton, Merseyside. Photo: © RWD
The flowers are pendant and bell-shaped when open.


30th July 2014, a garden, Berry Brow, Huddersfield, West Yorks. Photo: © RWD
Flowers yellow with four petals similar to orange-peel, but yellow. Leaves quite variable in shape, usually more lobed towards the stem.


5th July 2012, a garden, Bridgewater Canal, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
Petals (actually sepals) taper to a point and are 3-5cm long.


10th Sept 2014, Rimrose Nature Reserve, Sefton, Merseyside. Photo: © RWD
Flower stalk has short hairs. Numerous purplish filaments of the stamens are visible in a bunched cluster within.


10th Sept 2014, Rimrose Nature Reserve, Sefton, Merseyside. Photo: © RWD
From below the multitudinous purple-turning-brown stamen filaments surround the multitudinous yellowish stigmas. The sepals look thick like lemon-peel.


10th Sept 2014, Rimrose Nature Reserve, Sefton, Merseyside. Photo: © RWD
The anthers have yellow pollen.


30th July 2014, a garden, Berry Brow, Huddersfield, West Yorks. Photo: © RWD
The petals eventually drop off, as do the filaments with anthers, leaving a bunch of styles which later become hair-like and whitish.


10th Sept 2014, Rimrose Nature Reserve, Sefton, Merseyside. Photo: © RWD
Unusual looking-upwards view of un-opened flower.


10th Sept 2014, Rimrose Nature Reserve, Sefton, Merseyside. Photo: © RWD
Larger stems may be purplish and have a couple of opposite wings. Branches in pairs, or a pair of pairs. All with very short hairs.


10th Sept 2014, Rimrose Nature Reserve, Sefton, Merseyside. Photo: © RWD
The leaves are pinnate with a larger terminal leaf. Leaves cuneate to cordate, with rounded lobes or vaguely toothed.


10th Sept 2014, Rimrose Nature Reserve, Sefton, Merseyside. Photo: © RWD
Leaves semi-gloss faintly veined.


5th July 2014, Rimrose Nature Reserve, Sefton, Merseyside. Photo: © RWD
Eventually the bunch of styles splays out into a pappus revealing the fine-thread like character of each. Much like do those of other Traveller's-Joys.


Some similarities to : Japanese Lantern (Physalis alkekengi) wich has similarly-shaped pendant flowers but they are orange (not yellow) and the petals number five (rather than four). This plant belongs to the Nightshade family (Solanaceae).

Uniquely identifiable characteristics

Distinguishing Feature : The bell-shaped yellow pendant flowers with four yellow petals.

No relation to : Oranges () [a plant with similar name].

This plant is a neophyte in the UK grown in gardens, from which it may escape, but is native to China. It has several toxic components such as triterpenoid saponins with many sugar moieties (usually five) within and can also be allergenic to touch. Most have no common names, only extremely long chemical names, so are unlikely to get drawn here.


  Clematis tangutica  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Ranunculaceae  

Distribution
 family8Buttercup family8Ranunculaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Clematis
Clematis
(Traveller's-Joys)

ORANGE-PEEL CLEMATIS

CHINESE CLEMATIS

Clematis tangutica

Buttercup Family [Ranunculaceae]