Eastern cleomella

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Eastern cleomella

Eastern cleomella inflorescences

Eastern cleomella pods

Eastern cleomella

Eastern cleomella leaf

Eastern cleomella flowers

Morphology

Stem

Erect, branched, often bushy, glabrous.

Leaves

Alternate, stalked, palmately tri-foliolate; leaflets linear-elliptic to linear, 1 to 2.4 inches long, 1/12 to 1/3 inch wide; margins entire, tips pointed; stipules minute.

Inflorescence

Racemes, bracted, terminating branches.

Flower

Small, regular, on stalks 1/4 to 1/2 inch long; sepals 4, distinct, thin, overlapping, deciduous; petals 4, oblanceolate, 1/6 to 1/4 inch long; stamens 6, of equal length.

Fruit

Pod, broader than long, rhombic to somewhat triangular, 1/5 to 2/5 inch long and wide; valves 2, helmet-like; seeds 3-6 per capsule, kidney-shaped, dark brown, mottled.

Ecology

Habitat

Roadsides, river bottoms, gravel bars, and draws; sandy soils.

Distribution

Central 1/3 of Kansas.

Additional Notes