Resource study on Clematis plants in Henan Province, central China.

The application value, resource distribution status and utilization were analysed and evaluated based on a great deal of field investigation and specimen research work. The results showed that it is rich of Clematis plant resource in Henan Province, totally 35 taxa (24 species, one subspecies and 10 varieties) of Clematis, accounted for 17% species in China. This number is higher than any other adjacent provinces. Most of the Clematis species distributed in northern, western, and southern mountain areas of Henan Province, and very few species distributed in plain area. Within Henan Province, areas bearing Clematis species from high to low are Funiu Mountain Dabie Mountain Tongbai Mountain Taihang Mountain Xiaoqinling Mountain =Wangwu Mountain Plain area. Clematis species in Henan Province are mainly distributed in the areas of 600-1 200 m in elevation. Eight taxa distributed in the area higher than 1 500 m, three distributed in the area higher than 2 000 m, whereas, eight species occurred lower than 200 m. Compared with the adjacent provinces in Clematis species distribution, The similarity is the highest between Henan and Shanxi provinces(36.8%), and the lowest between Henan and Shandong provinces(10.8%).This because there are not many mountain areas in Shandong Province like Henan and Shanxi provinces. Among the 35 taxa in Henan Province, all the taxa may have horticultural values or potential horticultural values for vertical greening or cover plants, and 30 of them are of medicinal important, and one species is edible as vegetable. This study conducts a systematic and comprehensive identification and sorting of the Clematis plant resources and its application in Henan Province. It provides an important scientific basis for the development of plant resources in Henan Province and Clematis plant resources in China.