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Cleome spinosa

Jacq. (1760)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-Rosids Order: Brassicales Family: Cleomaceae Genus: Cleome

‘ili‘ohu [iliohu], honohina, spider flower

Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Annual herbs 10–14 dm tall.

Stems: Stems glandular pubescent and with scattered small spines.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves compound. Alternate. Blades lanceolate, 6–8(–10) cm long, 1.7–2.5(–3) cm wide; leaflets 5–7. Apex acute. Surfaces sparsely glandular pubescent. Margins entire to crenate. Veins pinnate. Petioles 5–10 cm long, sometimes with scattered prickles. Stipules present, spines 2–5 mm long.

Flowers: Flowers in elongate racemes, each one subtended by simple, subsessile bracts, in leafy terminal racemes, greatly elongating in fruit. Flowers bisexual (perfect). Calyx of 4 sepals; sepals (4–)6–7 mm long, glandular pubescent. Corolla of 4 petals, petals white, rarely pinkish tinged, spatulate with a long claw, 1.5–3 cm long, covering the stamens until anthesis, subequal, distinct, spatulate, entire. Stamens 6, inserted on the gynophore 0.5–2 mm above the petals; filaments 35–40 mm long; gynophore without a visible scar in fruit, Stamens alternate with the petals; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior, 1-celled; ovule placentation parietal.

Fruit: Capsules cylindrical; 5.5–6.5 cm long; ca. 4 mm in diameter; 2–valved; beaked. Seeds numerous; nearly smooth.

Ploidy: 2n = 18; 20; 24; 38; 44

Habitat: Formerly occurring at low elevations; often near taro paddies.

Elevation Range: 0–250 m.

Historical Distribution

Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Indigenous or Naturalized

Island Status

Ni'ihau(Incl. Lehua) Indigenous or Naturalized
O'ahu Indigenous or Naturalized
Maui Indigenous or Naturalized

Dispersal Agents


Pollinators

Specimens

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Notes

  • Cleome spinasa, presumably native to Hawai'i, was collected on many of the early exploring expeditions. However, it was last collecred in 1864-1865
  • Description digitized by Mercedez
  • Description digitized from the Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii
  • in Hawai'i possibly native, formerly occurring at low elevations, often near taro paddies, ca. 0-250 m, on Ni'ihau, O'ahu, and Maui.

Bibliography

Name Published In: Enum. Syst. Pl.: 26 (1760)

Other References

Wagner et al. 1990:494 (Ni, O, M [as C. spinosa]); Soares Neto et al. 2022:298 (Syn. C. spinosa = Tarenaya spinosa, not followed); Nagata 1985:40 (status change from ind? to ind, first collected 1819 [Haw'n plants further noted as morphologically unique by Wagner et al. 1990]); Wagner et al. 1990/Mann s.n. BISH 46089 (Ni†, 1864); Wagner et al. 1990/Wilkes s.n. US 00435401 (O†, 1840); Wagner et al. 1990/Meyen s.n. BM (M†, 1825)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Scientific Name Authorship Locality Habitat Basis of Record Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Cleome spinosa Jacq. Niihau PreservedSpecimen Mann, H. Brigham, W.T. Collector Number: s.n. Niihau BISH Specimen
2 Cleome spinosa Jacq. honolulu, sandwich islands PRESERVED_SPECIMEN wilkes explor. exped. s.n. Oahu US 1838-08-08
3 Cleome spinosa Jacq. Honolulu, Aina Haina, Hao Street. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN W. M. Bush 67 Oahu PTBG 7/1/1974
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