Clematis x jackmanii

Clematis xjackmanii T. Moore (C. lanuginosa Lindl. x C. viticella L.) (Hybr.) – A very rare, probably ephemeral escape from cultivation. First documented from a railway siding in Roeselare in 2009. Between 2011 and 2013 also repeatedly seen as an escape from cultivation in Berchem (Antwerp).

Clematis xjackmanii is here treated rather as a group of cultivars than as a single nothotaxon. The plant seen in Roeselare, with dark violet flowers, matches rather well with typical C. xjackmanii. Those observed in Berchem have white flowers and are closer to C. lanuginosa, one of the putative parents. They were, however, not as woolly as in the latter.

This hybrid is the direct or indirect parent of many other hybrids (Brandenburg 1989) and very widely cultivated as an ornamental.

Selected literature

Brandenburg W.A. (1989) Clematis. In: Walters S.M. & al. (eds.), The European Garden Flora, vol. 3. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 357-364.