Cleome maculata

{{Speciesbox

| image = Cleome maculata, Skeerpoort.jpg

| image2 = Sieruela maculata, blom, Dewetsnek, a.jpg

| genus = Cleome

| species = maculata

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Cleome maculata is a species of cleome that is native to southern Africa, where it occurs in sandy soils, especially in rocky habitats, and on slopes. It is a mostly annual plant,{{cite web |title=Cleome maculata (Sond.) Szyszyl. |url=http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/details.php?langue=an&id=12768 |website=African Plant Database |publisher=CJB & SANBI |accessdate=1 January 2015}} which is found in highveld regions of medium rainfall in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. It is an erect and simple or branching plant, usually less than a foot tall, with sparse leaves. The linear leaflets are three to five compound. Two of the up-curved, mauve flower petals have a yellow mark at their center, which is bordered with dark purple. The long, up-curved stamens are tipped with bluish, knobby anthers. The fruit is a linear capsule. The species is a pioneer plant that may become a weed.{{cite web |title=Cleome maculata |url=http://www.operationwildflower.org.za/index.php/plant-records/herbs/74-cleome-maculata |publisher=Operation Wildflower |accessdate=1 January 2015}}

References

maculata