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Ranunculaceae FAMILY

Clematis flammula

Clematis flammula

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

All parts of the plant are poisonous, the toxic principle is dissipated by heat or by drying[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Climber
GrowthFast

Clematis flammula is native to mediterranean and warm temperate, often semi-arid climates. A moderately cold-tolerant plant, when fully dormant it can withstand temperatures down to about -15 to -20°c[2, 3]. Prefers a deep moist well-drained soil with its roots in the shade[4, 5]. Dislikes poorly-drained heavy clay soils, but grows well in clay if grit is added for drainage[6, 5]. Dislikes light sandy soils[6]. Does well on chalk[7]. Succeeds in acid as well as alkaline soils[5]. Thrives in exposed positions[4]. A twining plant[4], it is fast growing[2]. The leafstalks wrap themselves around twigs and branches for support. When a side of the stalk touches an object, the growth on that side slows down whilst the other side grows at its normal rate - this causes the leaf stalk to entwine the object it is touching[8]. When planting out, in order to avoid the disease 'clematis wilt', it is best to plant the rootball about 8cm deeper in the soil. This will also serve to build up a good root crown of growth buds[5]. A very ornamental plant[7], the flowers are very fragrant[2]. They have a pronounced smell of meadowsweet, almost too powerful when inhaled close-up[9]. They are produced on the current season's growth and so any pruning of the plant is best carried out in the spring before new growth begins[10]. Plants rarely produce fertile seed in Britain[10]. A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes[11]. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[12]. This species is notably resistant to honey fungus[13, 5].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[14, 5]. Sow stored seed as soon as it is obtained in a cold frame. Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and remove as much of the tail and outer coat as possible[14]. A period of cold stratification is beneficial[14]. The seed germinates in 1 - 9 months or more at 20°c[14]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Internodal cuttings of soft to semi-ripe wood, late spring in sandy soil in a frame[5]. Cuttings of half-ripe inter-nodal cuttings, early to mid summer in a frame[2]. Layering of old stems in late winter or early spring[5]. Layering of current seasons growth in early summer[5]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Clematis+flammula>

Pollinators

Bees, Flies

References

  1. [1]A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. — Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. · Wolfe · 1984 · ISBN 0723408394 ↩︎Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.
  2. [2]Climbers and Wall Shrubs. — Davis. B. · Viking. · 1990 · ISBN 0-670-82929-3 ↩︎Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.
  3. [3]Clematis - The Genus — Grey-Wilson. C. · B. T. Batsford. London. · 2000 · ISBN 0-7134-7659-1 ↩︎An excellent and well illustrated concise guide to all the known specis of Clematis.
  4. [4]Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. — Thomas. G. S. · Murray · 1992 · ISBN 0-7195-5043-2 ↩︎Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.
  5. [5]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  6. [6]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  7. [7]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  8. [8]A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers — Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. · The Riverside Press · 1963 · ISBN 63-7093 ↩︎Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.
  9. [9]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · Robert Hale. London. · 1994 · ISBN 0-7090-5440-8 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
  10. [10]Gardening on Walls — Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. · Collins · 1983 · ISBN 0-00-219220-0 ↩︎A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.
  11. [11]How to Enjoy your Weeds. — Hatfield. A. W. · Frederick Muller Ltd · 1977 · ISBN 0-584-10141-4 ↩︎Interesting reading.
  12. [12]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons, London. · 1990 · ISBN 0 460 86048 8 ↩︎A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
  13. [13]The Garden. Volume 112. — RHS. · Royal Horticultural Society · 1987 · ISBN - ↩︎Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS. In particular, there are articles on plants that are resistant to honey fungus, oriental vegetables, Cimicifuga spp, Passiflora species and Cucurbits.
  14. [14]Growing from Seed. Volume 4. — Bird. R. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1990 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.
  15. [15]Flowers of the Mediterranean. — Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. · Hogarth Press · 1987 · ISBN 0-7012-0784-1 ↩︎A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.
  16. [16]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  17. [17]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  18. [18]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  19. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎