Cleome rubella with Cleome hirta in the background
Observation - Cleome rubella with Cleome hirta in the background - Southern Africa. Description: What made me stop to take a picture, was the tall Cleome hirta (see this observation) in the background, but growing down in the thick grass below were some Cleome rubella plants, a nice oppo
What made me stop to take a picture, was the tall Cleome hirta (see this observation) in the background, but growing down in the thick grass below were some Cleome rubella plants, a nice opportunity for comparison!
According to FSA 13 the two species are closely related, but they are easy to tell apart.
Both species are densely covered with glandular hairs an have palmately compound leaves with 5-9 leaflets, but that is pretty much as far as the similarities go. C. hirta is a very tall plant compared to C. rubella, and flowers are much larger (petals are c. 1.5-2 cm long in C. hirta, and less than 1 cm long in C. rubella). Also note the very long (10 cm+), cylindrical pods of C. hirta, compared to the short, flattened pods of C. rubella.
BTW I am holding the branch in the photo - it was quite difficult to get good pictures down in the grass below! :)