This species is represented in cultivation by the following variety:
var. souliei Finet & Gagnep. – A deciduous climber 20 ft high, with strongly ribbed, purplish, downy young shoots. Leaves up to 9 in. long, composed of five primary divisions each consisting of three leaflets; all the stalks downy. Leaflets ovate, pointed, wedge-shaped to truncate at the base, unevenly and coarsely toothed, sometimes three-lobed; 1 to 2 in. long, 1⁄2 to 11⁄2 in. wide; the terminal one usually more than twice the size of the side ones, which are shortly stalked to stalkless; both surfaces downy, dullish green. Flowers up to 21⁄2 in. wide, pure white, produced from the leaf-axils, singly or a few together on a main-stalk 3 to 6 in. long. Sepals six, obovate, 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 in. wide, each with a short abrupt point; tinged with yellow and downy outside. Stamens with glabrous stalks and pale yellow anthers. Seed-vessel with a feathery style. Bot. Mag., t. 8702.
Native of W. China; introduced by Wilson in 1911. It is quite hardy at Kew and grows freely. Whilst it does not make a great display at any one time the flowers are attractive in their pure whiteness and satiny texture and they continue to appear from June to September.
The true C. fargesii Franch., which is perhaps not in cultivation in this country, is said to differ from var. souliei in having proportionately larger anthers in comparison with the filaments and in the leaflets being more rounded at the base and more downy.