Volume 5 > Part 3 > Year 1991 > Page 263 > Capparaceae > Cleome

1. Cleome gynandra L.wfo-0000611317

Sp. Pl. 2: 671. 1753; Jacobs in Fl. Males. I. 6: 101. 1960; Iltis, Brittonia 12: 284. 1960; Back. & Bakh.f., Fl. Java 1: 182. 1963. Fig. 55.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Description : Annual herb, up to 1 m high; all parts glandular pubescent. Leaflets 5, obovate-oblanceolate, 2.5–5 by 0.5–2.5 cm; base cuneate; apex acute or obtuse; entire or serrulate; nerves 5–9 pairs. Petiole 3–8 cm. Bracts small, leaf-like, 3-foliolate. Flowers white or tinged with purple; pedicels 1–2 cm. Sepals lanceolate, 3–6 by 1–2 mm. Petals elliptic or spathulate, 4–7 by 2–3 mm, with 3–4 mm claw. Androgynophore 8–23 mm, soon glabrous. Stamens 6; filaments 1–2 cm; anthers oblong, 2–3 mm long. Gynophore 1–2 mm in flower, extending to 11 mm in fruit, glabrous. Ovary cylindrical, 1.5–2.5 by 0.5 mm, elongate, glandular pubescent. Fruits 3–7.5 by 0.4–0.5 cm, tapering at both ends; stipe 4–5 cm. Seeds 1–1.5 mm in diam., black-brown, with short irregular cross-ribs and inconspicuous longitudinal ribs.

Thailand : NORTHERN: Chiang Mai, Nan, Tak; NORTH-EASTERN: Khon Kaen; CENTRAL: Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok); SOUTH-EASTERN: Chon Buri (Si Racha); SOUTH-WESTERN: Kanchanaburi, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Distribution : From Ceylon to SE & E Asia, Malesia, Africa (type) and America.

Ecology : Common weed along roadsides, edges of rice fields and sandy riverbanks, 0–400 m alt. Flowering and fruiting all year.

Vernacular : Phak som sian (ผักส้มเสี้ยน)(Northern); phak sian (ผักเสี้ยน), phak sian khao (ผักเสี้ยนขาว)(Central).

CommonName : Wild Spider Flower.