Cleome rutidosperma DC., Cleomaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

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 stems.  Leaves 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.