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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

Naturalized

Island Status

Ni'ihau(Incl. Lehua) Naturalized
O'ahu Naturalized
Maui 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) [Note: not collected since 1864–1865]; Wagner et al. 2005—; status change from ind? to nat

Occurrences

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