Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)

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Cleome rutidosperma
DC., Cleomaceae
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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Cleome ciliata Schumach. & Thonn.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: zhou zi bai hua cai

English: fringed spiderflower

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Herbs, annual or rarely perennial, 30-100 cm tall. Stems branched, often with decumbent branches, glabrous or glabrescent to slightly scabrous but sometimes glandular pubescent. Stipules ca. 0.5 mm, scalelike or absent. Petiole 0.5-3.5 cm, proximally winged; leaflets 3; leaflet blades oblanceolate to rhomboid-elliptic, 1-3.5 x 0.5-1.7 cm, abaxially with curved trichomes on veins especially when young, adaxially glabrous, margins entire or serrulate-ciliate, apex acute, obtuse, or sometimes acuminate. Inflorescences terminal and axillary, 2-4 cm but 8-15 cm in fruit, 3-6-flowered; bracts leaflike, 3-foliate, 1-3.5 cm. Pedicel 1.1-2.1 cm but 1.8-3 cm in fruit. Sepals yellow, narrowly lanceolate, 2.5-4 x 0.2-0.3 mm, ± persistent, glabrous, margin ciliate. Petals white or speckled with purple, oblong to narrowly ovate, 7-10 x 1.5-2.3 mm; central 2 petals outside with a yellow transverse band. Filaments yellow, 5-7 mm; anthers purplish brown, 1-2 mm. Pistil 2-3 mm, glabrous; style 0.5-1.4 mm. Fruit with a 4-12 mm gynophore; capsule 40-70 x 3-4 mm, striate. Seeds 4-25 per capsule, reddish brown to black with white funicular aril, 1-1.5 mm, slender, striately verrucose"  (Flora of China online).

"Erect, branched, annual herb 15-100 cm tall, with angular stemsLeaves palmately trifoliolate, with a stalk 1.5-5 cm long; leaflets ovate to lanceolate, 2-5 cm long, 0.5-2.5 cm wide.  Flowers solitary, axillary, zygomorphic; sepals 4, petals 4, 9-12 mm long, crimson, turning pink.  Fruit a 2-valved, beaked capsule 5-7 cm long, 4-5 mm wide. Seeds numerous, black to brown, 1.8-2 mm diameter, spherical to kidney-shaped, strongly ribbed."  (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 29-30).

Habitat/ecology:  "Disturbed areas, roadsides, cropped and abandoned land.  Recorded in a wide range of crops as well as rainfed and upland rice; also an environmental weed."  (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 29-30).  "Plants are often observed growing as epiphytes on cliff faces, stone walls and trees" (Waterhouse, 2003; pp. 480-481).  In China, "between paddy fields, streamsides, wetlands; near sea level to 200 m"  (Flora of China online).

Propagation:  Seed, dispersed by ants (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 29-30). Spread by seed, by water, in farm machinery, farm produce and often by ants"(Weeds Australia).

Native range:  Tropical Africa (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 29-30).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Nauru
Nauru Island
Nauru Island introduced
invasive
Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 112)
Vouchers cited: Fosberg 58601 (US), Fosberg 58616 (US), Fosberg 58751 (US), Scully 108N (US), Thaman & Manner 22303 (SUVA), Swarbrick 9540 (BRIU)
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)
Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island) introduced
invasive
Space, Jim (2004)
Reported present by John Wilmot (pers. com.).
Philippines
Philippine Islands
Philippine Islands introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (p. 30)
Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Australia
Australia (continental)
Northern Territory introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, B. M (2003) (p. 481)
Subject of eradication program.
Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia (Kingdom of) introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (p. 30)
China
China
China (People's Republic of) introduced
invasive
Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013)
China
China
Hong Kong introduced
cultivated
Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 109)
Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia (Republic of) introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (p. 30)
Indonesia
Indonesia
West Papua Province (Indonesia) (western New Guinea Island) (formerly Irian Jaya) introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, B. M (2003) (p. 481)
Japan
Japan
Japan introduced
Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 183)
Malaysia
Malaysia
Malaysia (country of) introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (p. 30)
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore (Republic of) introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (p. 30)
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore (Republic of) introduced
invasive
Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 27)
Naturalised
Thailand
Thailand
Thailand (Kingdom of) introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (p. 30)
Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam (Socialist Republic of) introduced
invasive
Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (p. 30)
Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands)
Christmas Island Group
Christmas Island introduced
invasive
Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1993) (p. 17)
British Indian Ocean Territory
Chagos Archipelago
Diego Garcia Island introduced
invasive
Rivers, Julie (2004) (p. 3)
Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
United States (continental except west coast)
United States (other states)
United States (other states) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South Carolina
Naturalized
United States (continental except west coast)
United States (other states)
USA (Florida) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized

Comments:  "Serious weed in Jamaica and a principal weed in Borneo. Rapid expansion of its range reported in Indonesia and mainland southeast Asia in recent years." (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 29-30).

Found in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia in 2000 and subject to an eradication program (Waterhouse, 2003; pp. 480-481).

Control:  If you know of control methods for Cleome rutidosperma, please let us know.


Need more info? Have questions? Comments? Information to contribute? Contact PIER! (pier@hear.org)

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This page was created on 14 MAR 2005 and was last updated on 7 MAY 2017.