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 aturalized |
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Common name: Spider Flower, Spider Legs, Cleome
Botanical name: Cleome hasslerana Family: Capparaceae (caper family)
Cleome gets it's nickname "Spider Flower" from the spidery-like flowers with
long, waving stamen which are held on tall, strong leafy stems. Planted in
mass, they look like blooming shrubbery with 8-inch balls of blossoms. They
will reach a height of 6 feet in a good season. Violet Queen,
Cherry Queen, Pink Queen and Helen Campbell (white) are among the most popular
cultivars. One of their best attributes is that they are easily grown and
normally trouble free, with no insects or diseases to worry about.
When other late summer plants look wilted under the torrid sun,
cleome stand out robust and strong. The Spider Flower adds a graceful, dainty
look to the garden, producing lacy clusters of long flowers from summer to
fall. Leaves sort of resemble a Japanese Maple leaf and are composed of 5
leaflets each 5 to 6 inches long, usually with a pair of tiny thorn-like
spines at base of each leaflet. Lower leaves of the plant tend to fall off by
the end of summer, and can be covered by companion plants.
Spider flower is a half-hardy annual native to the southern states of
North America and to Brazil and Argentina in South America.
This flower attracts bees and hummingbirds.
| Photographed in
Nameri, Assam. |
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