Clematis: clematis do not have petals, 0 by ClematisGuru

ClematisGuru wrote:
well there is more interest on this topic than i thought there would be.
start with this...
clematis do not have petals
sepals are the outermost layers that protect the reproductive part of a plant.
brachts are a very protective, more " leathery" petal like layer around the flower (the poinsetta's center is actually the flower). when these center flowers actual mature and open , the leathery brachts are unslightly and by then have served their purpose. i think we enjoy the poinsetta in a unripe stage and consider the bracht a beautiful petal.
with clematis (the ranaculaae genus) what we call the "petal" is a sepal , but is also commonly called a "tepal"......so whether you call it a tepal or a sepal, it is not a petal.....the differentiating factor is the absence of a sepal if you turn the flower over and look at the place where it connects with the stem. turn over a hellebore bloom in a few weeks and you will see the absence of the little protective green things that have initially protected the bud.......let's keep this a secret so as not to discourage people further from clems, seeing how complicated the planting, pruning and identifying of types is.......
join the american clematis society to support the growth and info on clems and settle in for a good read with anything by mary toomey if you are so inclined. but do that now cause soon we will all be out getting dirty and celebrating the joy of spring and the unbelievable hardiness, beauty and learning opportunity of clematis.