Cleome Cleome ( Capparidaceae ) A genus of around 150 species of annuals, perennials and shrubs, mainly from tropical America and Africa. A few are cultivated as summer annuals. Fruits are carried on a long gynophore, the stalk of the ovary, which elongates as the fruit develop. Cleome aculeata L. A stiff tropical annual with spidery pinkish flowers, native of Mexico and the West Indies to South America, flowering much of the year. Stems to 90cm. Leaves with 3 leaflets, short stalked. Petals around 6mm long. Fruits to 6.5cm. Cleome gynandra L. A widely branching annual with white or pink flowers and long, red filaments, native of Central America, but now found throughout the tropics, growing in rocky places, flowering much of the year. Stems to 1.3m. Leaves with 3-7 leaflets, long-stalked. Petals around 2cm long. Fruits to 10cm. Cleome hassleriana Chodat, syn. C. spinosa auct. C. sesquiorygalis Naduin ex C. Huber A tall, sticky and aromatic summer annual with palmate, hemp-like leaves and spikes of spidery, pink, mauve or white flowers with long stamens, native of SE Brazil to Argentina, but widely naturalized elsewhere in the warmer parts of America, growing in fields and waste places, flowering in summer and autumn. Stems to 2m. Leaves with 5-7 leaflets. Leaf stalks often with a spine at the base. Petals 2.5-4cm; stamens 6, to 6cm. Fruits 5-15cm long. This is now available in the following colors: ' Helen Campbell ' syn. 'White Queen'; 'Cherry Queen'; 'Mauve Queen'; 'Pink Queen'; 'Rose Queen'; ' Violet Queen '; and 'Color Fountain' mix. Sow at 15-20°C, and plant out after the last frost. Cleome serrulata Pursh Rocky Mountain Beeplant A summer annual with 3 leaflets and dense spikes of small, pink flowers, native of E Washington and N California and on the Great Plains to New Mexico and N Texas, growing on plains and in sagebrush scrub in the foothills, flowering in May-September. Stems branched to 1.5m. Leaflets 2-7.5cm long. Petals 4, 1-1.2cm long. Stamens 6, much longer than the petals. Fruits 2.5-6.6cm long. An attractive species, not common in cultivation. Cleome lutea Hook., also from western North America, has smaller, yellow flowers and 5-7 leaflets. Both have abundant nectar and are beloved by bees. Excerpted from Annuals and Biennials: The Definitive Reference with over 1,000 Photographs by Roger Phillips, Martyn Rix All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
