Wonderful! Prune to 1-2' tall in early spring as leaf buds begin to show, removing all dead stems above the buds. Fruit Seeds are also showy and production is prolific. Leaflets are each 2-3 in. Clematis virginiana: Flowers White, fragrant, four-petaled flowers appear in the late summer through the fall. Clematis terniflora, in addition to sweet autumn clematis, is also called Japanese clematis because it is native to Japan and China. X Close. It blankets native vegetation and eliminates the basic source that plants need to make energy – sunlight, smothering vegetation beneath it. Clematis vitalba: sepals tomentose adaxially, leaf margins entire to crenate or dentate, and flowers with 20 or more carpels (vs. C. terniflora, with sepals glabrous adaxially, leaflet margins entire, and flowers with 10 or fewer carpels). The blooms are nicely fragrant and visited by bees. Clematis terniflora is a climbing, semi-evergreen, ornamental vine. Clematis terniflora is a vine with opposite, pinnately compound leaves, on climbing stems. The genus name Clematis is from the Greek word "klematis", for climbing plants. In late fall the fertilized flowers become fruit (seed) clusters of 5-6 fruits connected at the heads and each having a long white tail. It commonly overgrows saplings and small trees, killing some. The flowers are white, borne in fall. (5-7.6 cm) long. Foliage The leaves are opposite, compound (with 3-5 leaflets), and the margins are entire. The leaves are a leathery dark green.