Alpine Clematis

Alpine Clematis

　　Alpine Clematis

　　A perennial herb, 6–20 cm in height. The stem lies flat at the base and rises upward at the top, with new stems emerging from axillary buds of the previous year, having a diameter of 1–2 mm. It features bipinnate ternate pinnate compound leaves with slender petioles, 3–5 cm long, sparsely covered with white soft hairs or nearly hairless. The leaf blades are ovate, approximately 5 cm long and 4–4.5 cm wide. The leaflets are ovate-lanceolate to narrow ovate, with short or nearly absent petioles, pinnately lobed with few notched teeth or nearly entire margins. The upper surface is green and nearly hairless, while the lower surface is lighter in color and sparsely covered with soft hairs, with clearly visible veins. Flowers are solitary and pendulous; sepals are lanceolate, 3.2–3.8 cm long, pale blue-purple in color. There are two whorls of staminodes, each about 1.2 cm long with spoon-shaped tips. Stamens are numerous, with filaments usually elongated. The achene is obliquely rhombic-obovate, about 3 mm long and 2 mm wide, slightly swollen on both sides and hairy. The persistent style is about 3 cm long and covered with grayish-white downy hairs. Flowering occurs from June to July, and fruiting from August to September.

　　It grows in alpine tundra. Distributed in China (Northeast) and North Korea (Northern part).