Single-leaved cleome (Cleome monophylla)
Other names spindlepod, spider flower
At a glance
- Lifecycle
- Annual
- Exposure
- Full sun
Cultivation
Prefers a light fertile soil in a warm dry sunny position with plenty of room to spread. A frost tender plant, it can be grown as a summer annual in Britain.
Propagation
Seed - surface sow or only lightly cover the seed in spring in a greenhouse.
Edible uses
Leaves - cooked and used like spinach. The pungent seed is used as a mustard substitute.
Medicinal uses
The pounded root is put on the lips to restore consciousness when in a faint.
Habitat
A weed of fields and waste places.
Native range
S. Africa.