Traveller's joy or Jackman's clematis: how to tell them apart?
Traveller's joy and Jackman's clematis look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Traveller's joy
Clematis vitalba
Jackman's clematis
Clematis x jackmanii
The cultivated hybrid clematis bears large solitary purple flowers with broad petals, whereas traveller's joy, wild in our countryside, has a multitude of small white star-shaped flowers followed by silvery plumes.
🍃 Leaves
Opposite, compound, with generally 3 to 5 leaflets, often ovate to cordate; the petioles can twine around a support.
Deciduous, compound with 3 ovate, bright green leaflets, borne on long petioles that coil around a support
🌸 Flowers
Small, cream-white, strongly scented, abundant
Large solitary flowers with 4-6 broad petals (sepals), deep violet to purple, opening flat, very showy
🍎 Fruits
Achenes extended by a long plumed style, forming silky tufts
Achenes grouped in small silvery plumed heads after flowering
🪵 Bark
Long woody climbing vines
Thin twining stems, woody at the base, climbing without tendrils by coiling their petioles around a support
📏 Size
woody climbing vine, up to 8 m long
2 to 4 m tall when climbing
🗺️ Habitat
Hedges, woodland edges, climbing over shrubs
Gardens throughout France, planted at the foot of a wall, on a pergola, trellis or to climb through a shrub, with the roots in shade and the head in sun
⚠️ Toxicity
Irritant plant: the sap can cause skin irritation and ingestion is toxic. Wear gloves when handling.
Sap irritant to the skin and mucous membranes (as in other clematis); ingestion not recommended, may cause digestive irritation.
🔎 And from the Jackman's clematis side
Traveller's joy, wild in our countryside, has a multitude of small white star-shaped flowers followed by silvery plumes in autumn, whereas the cultivated hybrid clematis bears large solitary purple flowers with broad petals.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.