Cleome rutidosperma DC.

Cleome species are annual or perennial herbs. Stem simple or sparsely branched, glabrous or grandular pubescent, foetid or sometimes with scattered prickly appendages. Leaves simple, spiral or digitately 3-13 foliate, lanceolate to oblanceolate, margin entire or serrate, lower leaves petiolate, upper ones subsessile to sessile, stipules scalelike, caducous or absent. Inflorescence racemes, solitary to many flowered, terminal or axillary. Flowers bisexual, zygomorphic or rarely actinomorphic, pedicellate, bracts membranous or leaflike, caducous or persistent, sepals 4, equal, valvate, free or slightly fused at the base, subtending nectary glands at the base, pubescent, petals 4, equal or unequal, usually clawed at base, longer than the sepals. Stamens 4-6, filament inserted on a discoid, declinate, glabrous, anthers linear oblong. Ovary superior, bicarpellary, sessile or on short gynophore, unilocular, ovules many on parietal 2 placentae, style short or absent, stigma capitate. Fruit capsule, dehiscent, linear oblong, with persistent seed bearing replum. Seeds 4-40, orbicular or reniform, cleft fused between 2 ends, surface smooth, reticulate or warty, embryo straight.

Climber

Flowering class: Dicot Habit: Herb

Flowering and fruiting: May-November

Cleome species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects, or cleistogamy i.e., by self or allogamy i.e., by cross pollination. Flowering/Fruiting: May-November.

Seeds may be dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal, anemochory i.e., wind dispersal, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Annual herbs, about 20-100 cm tall. Stem weak, erect or decumbent, branched, subglabrous or eglandular pubescent, with soft recurved deciduous hairs up to 2 mm long prickles, branches slender, usually branched from the base and slightly above. Leaves tri-foliate, leaflets subsessile or up to 0.5 mm long, lanceolate-oblong to rhombate-obovate, about 10-50 x 3-18 mm across, base cuneate or attenuate, webbed, margin subentire, slightly crenate-serrulate, slightly purplish along the margins, apex acute or acuminate, lower most leaflets wider, glabrous above and pubescent beneath on the veins, petiole slender, longer in the basal leaves and gradually becoming shorter towards the shoot, about 0.5-4 cm long. Inflorescence racemes, solitary to few flowered, lax in fruit, not clearly demarcated, axillary and terminal, up to 20 cm long. Flowers bisexual, zygomorphic, white with purple tips, magenta, bluish violet, pedicel slender, filiform, about 1-2 cm long, up to 3.5 long in fruit, sepals 4, linear lanceolate, valvate, apex acuminate, pubescent with tiny bristles, about 2.5-4 x 0.4-0.8 mm across, petals 4, elliptic oblanceolate, distinctly clawed, attenuate at base, apex acuminate, about 8-12 x 1.5-2.5 mm across, claw about 2-3.5 mm long, after anthesis. Stamens 6, filament inserted on a discoid. Ovary superior, bicarpellary, linear slightly curved, about 7-12 mm long, unilocular, gynophore about 1.5-2 mm long, up to 8 mm after in fruits, stigma sessile, capitate. Fruit capsule, dehiscent, linear cylindric, compressed, about 40-70 x 2.5-4 mm across, attenuate at the base and apex, with persistent seed bearing replum. Seeds many, suborbicular to reniform, about 1.5-1.8 x 1.4-1.7 mm across, with prominent concentric ridges, cleft fused between 2 ends, with white or cream elaiosomes, dark brown or blackish brown.

Cleome species are susceptible to various insect pests, virus and fungi, affecting leaves, fruits and roots.

Notes: Coastal areas

Introduced and naturalized in waste places, altitude up to 800 m.

Shady places, open areas, tree undergrowth

In coastal areas

Not evaluated (IUCN).

Lab studies have shown this species is diuretic and antibacterial.