Cleome

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

Cleome >

L. >

Cleome is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cleomaceae.

The genus has a subcosmopolitan distribution throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world.

Read about Cleome in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Cleome (meaning uncertain). Capparidaceae. Odd spider-flowered plants sometimes grown in the flower garden. Sub-shrubs or annual herbs, simple or branched, glabrous or glandular, with simple Lvs. or 3-7 Lfts., and white, green, yellow or purplish fls. borne singly or in racemes; petals entire, with claws.— Seventy tropical species, in both hemispheres. The genus is distinguished from Gynandropsis by its short torus, which often bears an appendage, and by the 4-6, rarely 10, stamens. The garden cleomes are chiefly interesting for their long purple spidery stamens and showy rose-colored petals. They succeed in sandy soils and sunny situations, and can be used like castor-oil plants to fill up large gaps in a border. C. spinosa is the best, and has lately been planted considerably in public parks amongst shrubbery. Propagated by seeds, which are produced freely in long slender pods borne on long stalks. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Species

Cleome hassleriana (spider flower) is a commonly cultivated garden plant, which can become invasive if attention is not paid to removing it before it can shed its seeds.

C. dendroidea, Schult. Tree-like, 10-14 ft.: fls. blackish purple. Brazil. B.M. 3296.—C. gigantea, Linn. Shrubby. 3-5 ft., downy: Lfts. 7, lanceolate, lance-oblong or oblanceolate, the entire lf. shorter than petiole: fls. greenish; petals linear, 2 in. or more long, cohering by their margins and opening only on one side; sepals long-linear, glandular, becoming revolute. Trop. Amer. B.M. 3137.—C. speciosa, HBK=Gynandropsis.^CH

Selected species: Sources:

Cleome aculeata L. , tropical Cleome anomala Kunth; neo-tropical Cleome arborea Kunth Cleome aspera Koen. ex DC. Cleome augustinensis (Hochr.) Briq. Cleome chilensis DC. Cleome cordobensis Eichler ex Griseb. Cleome diffusa Banks ex DC. Cleome eosina J.F.Macbr. Cleome flexuosa F.Dietr. Cleome gigantea L. Cleome glabra Taub. ex Glaz. Cleome guianensis Aubl. Cleome gynandra L. Cleome hassleriana Chodat Cleome herrerae J.F.Macbr. Cleome hirta (Klotzsch) Oliv. Cleome iberica DC. Cleome isomeris Greene Cleome lanceolata (Mart. & Zucc.) H.H.Iltis Cleome lechleri Eichler Cleome lutea Hook. Cleome micrantha Desv. ex Ham. Cleome monophylla L.

Cleome multicaulis DC. Cleome ornithopodioides L. Cleome paludosa Willd. ex Eichler Cleome parviflora Kunth Cleome pilosa Cleome platycarpa Torr. Cleome psoraleifolia DC. Cleome rubella Burch. Cleome rutidosperma DC. Cleome serrata Jacq. Cleome serrulata Pursh Cleome sparsifolia S.Wats. Cleome speciosa Raf. Cleome spinosa Jacq. Cleome stenophylla Klotzsch ex Urban Cleome stylosa Eichler Cleome titubans Speg. Cleome trachycarpa Klotzsch ex Eichler Cleome tucumanensis H.H.Iltis Cleome violacea L. Cleome viridiflora Schreb. Cleome viscosa L. Cleome werdermannii A. Ernst

Gallery

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

  Cleome chelidonii

References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Cleome. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Cleome QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)