Japanese name: ボタンヅル（牡丹蔓） Scientific name:Clematis apiifolia var. apiifolia
[Overview]
A deciduous to semi-evergreen climbing perennial found at sunny forest edges and in grasslands.
The base of the stem becomes woody.
When the petioles and leaflet stalks touch something to climb, they elongate and twine around it.
The leaves are opposite and once ternately compound.
The leaflets are oblong to ovate with pointed tips and irregularly toothed margins.
The leaf veins are sunken on the upper surface.
Ternate cymes arise from the leaf axils of branches grown in the current year and bear many upward-facing flowers.
The flowers are white, 1.5–2 cm across, with no petals and 4 petal-like sepals.
The sepals are oblong, with short hairs on the outside.
The many stamens stand out.
The fruit is an achene 4 mm long.
The long style of the pistil persists on the fruit and becomes feathery, densely covered with hairs.
[Notes]
The Japanese name is said to come from the leaf shape resembling the leaves of the peony (botan).
