Clematis: clematis do not have petals, 1 by ClematisGuru

ClematisGuru wrote:
if you love clems, you probably know that they do not have "petals". the beautiful colored things we think of as petals are actually "sepals".
what's the difference?
a sepal is a protective outer leave that covers the bud and then stays at the bottom of the flower. Turn a rose over, and see the tiny green "leaves" at the bottom of the flower......those are the sepals of the rose.
turnover a clem and you will notice no traditional little sepals......the "petals"are actually the sepal. this is what distinguishes the genus and puts some unlikelys as delphinium, hellebores, buttercups, and the rest of the group together as a family. if this unlikely family group of the genus interests you, do a little research to see the whole family.......the distinguishing factor of the group is ....no petals! the petals are really sepals!
with clematis beauty like we have all come to appreciate, "who cares" may be your response...and i won't disagree with you. but one of the things i like most about my hellebores and delphiniums is that they are in the same family as my beloved clems!