''Cleomella serrulata'' (syns. ''Cleome serrulata'' and ''Peritoma serrulata''), commonly known as Rocky Mountain beeplant/beeweed, stinking-clover, bee spider-flower, skunk weed, Navajo spinach, and guaco, is a species of

annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. The length of growing seasons and period in which they take place vary according to geographical ...

in the genus ''

Cleomella ''Cleomella'' is a small genus of about ten species of flowering plants. Like their relatives, the cleomes, plants of this genus have traditionally been included in the caper family Capparaceae but have recently been moved into a new family, Cleo ...

''. Many species of insects are attracted to it, especially bees, which helps in the pollination of nearby plants. It is native to southern Canada and the western and central United States. The plant has often been used for food, to make

dyes A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution and ...

for paint, and as a treatment in traditional medicine.

Taxonomy

In 1814, Frederick Traugott Pursh described this species in the first volume of ''Flora Americae Septentrionalis'', based upon specimens collected by the Lewis and Clark Expedition near the Vermillion River in South Dakota. In the first volume of '' Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis'' in 1824, Augustin Pyramus de Candolle moved this species to a genus which he named ''Peritoma'' (replacing the earlier illegitimate name ''Atalanta'' Nuttall), and calling the species ''Peritoma serrulatum''. In 1901, Edward Lee Greene expanded Candolle's ''Peritoma'', including this species as ''Peritoma serrulatum'' DC. and '' Peritoma lutem'' Raf. as well as two other species that he knew little about. At least ''Peritoma serrulata'' has been determined to be a synonym of ''Cleome serrulata''.

Description

''Cleomella serrulata'' is an

growing to tall, with spirally arranged leaves. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are trifoliate, diminutive teeth, and with three slender leaflets each long. The flowers are reddish-purple, pink, or white, with four petals and six long stamens. The fruit is a capsule long containing several seeds. Flowering lasts an extended period because it begins at the bottom of the stalk and works its way up. The onset of flowering and seed pods comes at the same time. Cell wall elasticity is higher in specimens that live in drier climates. The pollen is about in length with three furrows which have one pore each. Moisture, temperature, and time are critical in seed germination. Germination occurs during summer and plants can quickly grow to . Flowers are often covered with a variety of insects, especially bees. Elongated capsules contain the seeds, which are dark brown to black, curved, and have a wart-like appearance. After the seeds are dispersed, the plants begin decomposing. The plant is called in the Navajo language, in the

Hopi language Hopi (Hopi: ) is a Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Hopi people (a Puebloan group) of northeastern Arizona, United States. The use of Hopi has gradually declined over the course of the 20th century. In 1990, it was estimated that more than 5,0 ...

, and both and in the Zuni language.

Distribution and habitat

''Cleomella serrulata'' is native in southern Canada from British Columbia to Ontario and in the United States from the west coast of the United States east to Ohio and southwest to Texas. It is also

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

farther east in North America, including Maine. This species is often found in disturbed lands—such as roadsides, open woods, mountain foothills, and prairies. The plants prefer moist alkaline soils that are light or sandy. It grows in a wide range of pH levels and prefers mild shade or full sun while being drought tolerant. It is commonly found at elevations of in the northern Rocky Mountains. It is often found with the following species: '' Pascopyrum smithii'' (western wheatgrass), '' Pseudoroegneria spicata'' (bluebunch wheatgrass), '' Koeleria macrantha'' (prairie Junegrass), '' Poa secunda'' (Sandberg bluegrass), ''

Gaillardia aristata ''Gaillardia aristata'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the sunflower family, known by the common names common blanketflower and common gaillardia. This perennial wildflower is widespread across much of North America, from Yuko ...

'' (common gaillardia), '' Artemisia tridentata'' (big sagebrush), and ''

Ratibida columnifera ''Ratibida columnifera'', commonly known as upright prairie coneflower, Mexican hat, and longhead prairie coneflower, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the genus ''Ratibida'' in the family Asteraceae. It is native to much of North Amer ...

'' (prairie coneflower).

Uses

''Cleomella serrulata'' has been used in the southwestern United States as a food, medicine, and

dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...

since prehistoric times and is one of very few wild foods still in use. As food, its seeds can be eaten raw or cooked, or dried and ground into meal for use as a mush. The tender leaves, flowers and shoots can be cooked and eaten as a cooked vegetable, s.v. Beeweed Pueblo or added to cornmeal porridge. Among the Zuni, the leaves gathered in large quantities and hung indoors to dry for winter use. The young leaves are cooked with corn strongly flavored with chili peppers. To reduce its bitter taste, pieces of iron or rust were sometimes added to the cooking pot. Animals rarely feed on this plant because of its disagreeable taste and odor. Nitrate poisoning can result if too much is consumed. Birds do eat the seeds, and the plant provides good cover for land reclamation and upland birds. The Tewa and other

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

tribes often included ''Cleome serrulata'' as a 'fourth sister' in the Three Sisters agriculture system because it attracts bees to help pollinate the beans and squash. In traditional Native American and frontier medicine, an infusion of the plant is used to treat stomach troubles and fevers, and poultices made from it can be used on the eyes. As a dye, the plant can be boiled down until it is reduced to a thick, black syrup; this was used as a binder in pigments for painting black-on-white pottery at least as long ago as 900-1300 by the

Ancestral Puebloans The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, a ...

. The

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

still use it to make yellow-green dye for their rugs and blankets. Plant paste is used with black mineral paint to color sticks of plume offerings to anthropic gods, and the whole plant except for the root is used in pottery decorations.

Ecology

The flowers are attractive to and support a wide variety of

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the maj ...

s.The Xerces Society (2016), ''Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects'', Timber Press. It is a larval host to the

checkered white ''Pontia protodice'', the checkered white or southern cabbage butterfly, is a common North American butterfly in the family Pieridae. Its green larva is a type of cabbage worm. Description The upperside of the wings are white and marked wit ...

Gallery

Cleome serrulata (5006013997).jpg, Habitat Cleome serrulata1.jpg, Purple flowers Cleome serrulata white.jpg, White flowers Cleome serrulata (8009474054).jpg, Fruit

Notes

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q42734358, from2=Q5131677 serrulata Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of the Western United States Flora of Western Canada Flora of the Rocky Mountains Plant dyes Plants used in Native American cuisine Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Plants described in 1813