Cleome isomeris

Cleome isomeris
Cleome isomeris
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Cleomaceae
Genus: Cleome
Species: C. isomeris
Binomial name
Cleome isomeris
Greene
Synonyms

Isomeris arborea Nutt.

Cleome isomeris (syn. Isomeris arborea) is a perennial species of cleome known by the common names bladderpod, burrofat, and California cleome. It is native to California and Baja California where it grows in a variety of habitats from coastal bluffs to desert arroyos. It is a densely branching shrub reaching one half to two meters in height. Its leaves are made up of three equal leaflike leaflets, each a long, pointed oval one to four centimeters long. The plant produces abundant inflorescences at the ends of the stem branches, each a cluster of bright yellow flowers. Each flower has usually four petals and six whiskery protruding stamens with curling tips holding the anthers. At the middle is a long, protruding style which holds the developing fruit at its tip. The fruit is an inflated capsule about 4 centimeters long and usually oval in shape. It is smooth and green when new, aging to light brown. A typical inflorescence bears a number of unopened flower buds at its tip, open flowers proximal to the buds, and maturing fruits which have shed their flowers below these.


Cleome isomeris, Joshua Tree National Park, March 2005. This plant was five or six feet high and loaded with flowers from top to bottom.


External links

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