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Botanical name: Cleome houtteana Family: Cleomaceae (Spider Flower family)
Synonyms: Tarenaya hassleriana, Tarenaya houtteana, Cleome hassleriana Brazilian Spider flower is an annual herb, 1-1.5
m tall. Inflorescences are 5-30 cm (10-80 cm in fruit), stalked; bracts
ovate, 1-2.5 cm. Flower-stalks are 2-4.5 cm, glandular velvet-hairy. Sepals
are green, equal, distinct, linear-lanceshaped, 5-7 x 0.8-1.3 mm, reflexed
after flowering, persistent, glandular velvet-hairy, tip tapering. Petals
are pink to purple but infrequently white or fading to white by second day,
oblong to ovate, 2-3 x 0.8-1.2 cm, clawed. Long stamens arise from very
close to the sepals, a feature which easily distinguishes this plant
from Showy Spider Flower.
In Showy Spider Flower the stamens arise from a distance above the sepals.
Stamens are purple, 3-5 cm; anthers green, 9-10 mm. Pistil 6-10 mm.
Stems are branched, glandular velvet-hairy. Stipular spines 1-3
mm. Leaf-stalks are 2.5-7.5 cm, with 1-3 mm spines; leaflets 5 or 7;
leaflet blades elliptic to inverted-lanceshaped, 2-6 x 1-3 cm, glandular
hairy, margin minutely toothed-finely toothed, tip pointed.
Brazilian Spider Flower is native to Brazil to Argentina, cultivated
worldwide. Flowering: April-December.
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