Don't want to see ads? Sign up...




Cleome houtteana

Cleome houtteana

Schltdl

Family: Cleomaceae
Order: Brassicales
Class: Magnoliopsida
Phylum / Division: Magnoliophyta
Kingdom: Plantae

 Request change



Filters




Description


Cleome houtteana, commonly known as spider flower, spider plant, pink queen, or grandfather´s whiskers, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cleome of the family Cleomaceae, native to southern South America in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and southeast Brazil. It has also been introduced to South Asia, including the Haor area of Bangladesh and India.

It is an annual growing to a height of 150 cm, with spirally arranged leaves. It has a height of 90 cm (35 in) to 180 cm (71 in). The leaves are palmately compound, with five or seven leaflets, the leaflets up to 12 cm long and 4 cm broad and the leaf petiole up to 15 cm long. Its maximum crown width ranges from 30 cm (12 in) to 60 cm (24 in). The flowers are purple, pink, or white, with four petals and six long stamens. The fruit is a capsule up to 15 cm long and 3 mm broad, containing several seeds. Flowering lasts from late spring to early fall.

The scented blooms are sometimes compared to citronella.

Cleome houtteana is commonly cultivated in temperate regions as a half-hardy annual. Numerous cultivars have been selected for flower color and other attributes. The "Queen" series includes the cultivars ´Violet Queen´, ´Rose Queen´, and ´White Queen´. The cultivar ´Helen Campbell´ has gained the Royal Horticultural Society´s Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017).

Misidentification: The plant is sometimes mistakenly identified as cannabis due to its leaves and general growth shape. It also shares a similar odor, a foetid or skunky smell produced by the glandular hairs.

Plants in cultivation have also at times been misidentified as Cleome arborea, C. pungens or C. spinosa.

Source: Wikipedia, article Cleome houtteana. Content adapted from Wikipedia, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Accessed on 18/07/2026.





Geographic distribution


Loading map...




Species photographs

Count: 3



 Add a photography of this species






Species vocalizations

Last vocalizations published



 Add an audio of this species





Species videos

Last filmings published




 Add a film of this species





Species reports



 Detail of places sorted by number of records






Species records

Count: 6



Page 1 of 1
Record IDDateExact timeCountryProvince / departmentPlaceFilmedPhotographedRecorded vocalObservedHeardWounded or deadNumber of individualsUser or BibliographyDetail
241818803/01/202607:07ArgentinaSanta FeMuseo y Parque de la Constitución Nacional, Santa Fe1Gustavo Fernando Durán
224422431/01/202518:06ArgentinaSanta FeReserva Ecológica Ciudad Universitaria UNL (RECU), Santa Fe1Gustavo Fernando Durán
223011028/12/2024ArgentinaSanta FeReserva Ecológica Ciudad Universitaria UNL (RECU), Santa Fe1Gustavo Fernando Durán
220066519/11/2024ArgentinaMisionesReserva Privada y Ecolodge SurucuáHugo Caverzasi
202257511/04/2024ArgentinaBuenos AiresAscensiónJavier Villamil
181649119/08/2023ArgentinaSantiago del EsteroCostanera del Río Dulce, alt Maco, Santiago del EsteroHugo Caverzasi
Page 1 of 1

 Add a record of this species

📖
Recommended citation
Please use the following reference when citing this species account.
EcoRegistros. 2026. Cleome houtteana – Species account. Accessed from www.ecoregistros.org on 14/09/2026.