Cleomaceae
Cleome

Cleome ramosissima Parl. ex Webb

First published in Fragm. Fl. Aethiop.-Aegypt.: 22 (1854)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is NE. Tropical Africa, Arabian Peninsula. It is a subshrub or shrub and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Annual or perennial herb, up to 1.5 m tall, sticky and aromatic; stem glandular-puberulous
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 3-foliolate; leaflets elliptic or oblanceolate, the median up to 5 x 1.8 cm, the lateral somewhat shorter, glandular-puberulous on both surfaces; petiole up to 3 cm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Bracts present, small
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals 2–3 mm long, glandular
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals yellowish with purple veins, 6–11 mm long, shortly clawed, subequal
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 6(–7)
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsules (40–)60–80 x 3–3.5 mm, spreading or often drooping at maturity; gynophore (1.5–)2–6 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds 1.5–1.75 mm in diam., dark brown, pilose.
Distribution
N1–3
Ecology
Altitude range 900–1800 m.
Note
This species has usually been called C. schweinfurthii, and C. ramosissima has for a long time been regarded as a synonym of C. brachycarpa. However, original material of C. ramosissima (from Sudan) present in Florence and recently studied by L. E. Kers turned out to be conspecific with C. schweinfurthii.
[FSOM]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0