Cleome spinosa

Jacq.

Spiny spider flower

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(c) Neptalí Ramírez Marcial, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Neptalí Ramírez Marcial

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(c) Aurelio Molina Hernández., some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Aurelio Molina Hernández.

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

The leaves are edible.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It is best in a well-drained, moist soil. It needs a sunny position. It is resistant to frost but damaged by drought. It grows in tropical America.

Africa, Asia, Australia, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central America, Congo, Cuba*, Dominican Republic, Gabon, Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, India, Jamaica, Korea, Lesser Antilles*, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, North America, Pacific, Pakistan, SE Asia, Slovenia, South America*, Suriname, Venezuela, West Africa, West Indies*,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Brunei, Bolivia, Brazil, Bahamas, Bhutan, Botswana, Belize, Canada, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Chile, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Micronesia, Gabon, Grenada, Georgia, French Guiana, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Haiti, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Comoros, St Kitts & Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St Lucia, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Mexico, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Nepal, Nauru, New Zealand, Oman, Panama, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Palau, Paraguay, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Sudan, Singapore, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, Suriname, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, El Salvador, Syria, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Tonga, Turkey, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, St Vincent, Venezuela, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Samoa, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A small herb. It grows 60-90 cm high. It spreads 1.2 m wide. The stems are slender. It has prickly stems. The leaves are large. They have 5-7 lobes. The flowers are pink to white or purple. They are in clusters at the top of the plant.

How to Grow

Plants are grown from seeds.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Cleome spinosa, called the spiny spiderflower, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cleome. It is native to the New World Tropics, and has been introduced to the United States, tropical Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Vietnam, New Caledonia, and Korea. It is pollinated by bats.

Notes

Cleome afrospinosa and Cleome spinosa may be separate species.

Names & Synonyms

Akoghele, Trnata kleoma

Cleome afrospinosa IltisCleome pubescens SimsCleome pungens Willd.

References (10)

Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 265
Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 1. Kew.
Dalziel,
Enum. syst. pl. 26. 1760 (Select. stirp. amer. hist. 190. 1763)
Flora of Pakistan. www.eFlora.org (As Cleome heptaphylla)
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 204 (As Cleome heptaphylla)
Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 77
Plants of Haiti Smithsonian Institute http://botany.si.edu
Raponda-Walker, A & Sillans, R., 1961, Les Plantes Utiles du Gabon. Editions Paul Lechevalier, Paris. p 117
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew