Cleomaceae
Cleome

Cleome viscosa L.

First published in Sp. Pl.: 672 (1753)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tropical & Subtropical Old World. It is an annual or subshrub and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome. It is used as animal food and a medicine, has environmental uses and social uses and for food.

Descriptions

George R. Proctor (2012). Flora of the Cayman Isands (Second Edition). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Morphology General Habit
A coarse erect viscid herb to about 1 m tall, glandular-pubescent throughout, the stems unarmed
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 3–5-foliolate, the obovate or elliptic leaflets 1–4 cm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers solitary in the upper leaf-axils; sepals narrowly oblong, 5–7 mm long, deciduous; petals yellow, ca. 10 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 12–20, usually shorter than the petals
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary sessile; style short, elongating in fruit, with capitate stigma
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule linear-cylindrical, 6–8 cm long, densely glandular-pubescent, the apex terminated by the persistent style; seeds transversely crested.
Distribution
Cayman Brac. A pantropical weed of open waste ground.
Ecology
Weed of open waste ground.
[Cayman]

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]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Naturalizada y adventicia en Colombia; Alt. 0 - 300 m.; Islas Caribeñas.
Morphology General Habit
Hierba
Conservation
No Evaluada
[CPLC]

Capparidaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:1. 1954

Morphology General Habit
Erect herb, to 2 ft. high, very sticky
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers yellow.
[FWTA]

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Caribbean. Elevation range: 0–300 m a.s.l. Naturalised in Colombia. Colombian departments: San Andrés y Providencia.
Habit
Herb.
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: artificial - terrestrial.
[UPFC]

Capparidaceae, J. Elffers, R. A. Graham & G. P. Dewolf. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1964

Morphology General Habit
Annual herb, branched above, erect, up to 1 m. tall, foul smelling.
Morphology Stem
Stem angular, rather densely glandular-hairy.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves petiolate, 3–5-foliolate; leaflets obovate, up to 4 cm. long, obtuse or rounded, sometimes retuse, at the apex, cuneate at the base; petiole up to 14 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence up to 30 cm. long, with few corymbose ephemeral flowers at the top; rhachis markedly elongating in fruit; bracts foliaceous, scarcely smaller than the leaves.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals lanceolate, 4–6 mm. long, glandular-puberulous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 6–9 mm. long, yellow.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 10–20.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynophore
Gynophore absent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsules 3.5–7.5 cm. long, glandular-hairy.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds ±1.4 mm. in diameter, dark brown with fine longitudinal striations and conspicuous transverse ridges.
Habitat
Rocky and sandy places, roadsides and cultivated ground; near sea-level
Distribution
northern tropical Africa from Cape Verde I. to the Sudan Republicalso from Arabia and Socotra to tropical Australiaadventive in the New World. The above is the only record from East Africa, but it is some 65 km. from the Port of Zanzibar and appears to be behaving as a native plant Z
[FTEA]

Uses

Use Animal Food
Used as animal food.
Use Environmental
Environmental uses.
Use Gene Sources
Used as gene sources.
Use Food
Used for food.
Use Materials
Used as material.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
Use Social
Social uses.
[UPFC]

Common Names

unknown
hoocha-sasave (Can), jungli-hulvul (Duk), kookka-avalu (Tel), nay-kadughu (Tam), wild mustard

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

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

  • Colombian resources for Plants made Accessible

    • ColPlantA 2021. Published on the Internet at http://colplanta.org
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

  • EBC Common Names

    • Common Names from Kew's Economic Botany Collection https://www.kew.org/science/collections-and-resources/collections/economic-botany-collection

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of the Cayman Islands

    • Flora of the Cayman Islands
    • 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 2026. 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 2026. 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

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

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