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Cleome strigosa

(Bojer) Oliv.

Cleomaceae Edible: Leaves, Vegetable 10 iNaturalist observations

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(c) vononarbgkew, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by vononarbgkew

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

(c) Ehoarn Bidault, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

(c) Ehoarn Bidault, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Description

A herb. It grows each year from seeds. It has longs tiff hairs. The leaves have 3-5 leaflets. The leaflets are 5 cm long by 2.4 cm wide. The flower petals are mauve. The fruit capsules are 20-35 mm long by 2 mm. They are spreading or drooping.

Edible Uses

The leaves are eaten as a cooked vegetable.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in the lowlands. It grows up to 275 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Africa, East Africa, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania,

Notes

There are about 150 Cleome species.

Synonyms

Decastemon zanzibaricus KlotzschPolanisia strigosa Bojer

References (6)

  • East African Herbarium records, 1981,
  • Grivetti, L. E., 1980, Agricultural development: present and potential role of edible wild plants. Part 2: Sub-Saharan Africa, Report to the Department of State Agency for International Development. p 47, 48
  • Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 68
  • Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 181
  • Mutie, F. M., et al, 2023, Important Medicinal and Food Taxa (Orders and Families) in Kenya, Based on Three Quantitative Approaches. Plants 2023, 12, 1145
Show all 6 references
  • Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 77

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