Cleome platycarpa
Encyclopedia
Cleome platycarpa is a species of flowering plant in the cleome family
known by the common names golden bee plant and golden spiderflower. It is native to the western United States from northeastern California
to Idaho
, including the Modoc Plateau
, where it grows on clay
and volcanic soils
in the sagebrush
. It is an annual herb branching at the base into several erect stems up to about 60 centimeters tall. The stems are green tinted with purple, coated densely in glandular hairs, and lined with many leaves. Each leaf is divided into three small leaflets. The top of each stem is occupied by a raceme
of many flowers. Each flower has generally four yellow sepal
s and four yellow petals around a center of many yellow stamen
s. The fruit is a flat, hairy capsule up to 2.5 centimeters long which hangs on the long, remaining flower receptacle.
Some Plateau Indian tribes used an infusion of golden spiderflower to treat children's colds
, and rubbed on a mash to treat fever
s.
Cleomaceae
Cleomaceae is a small family of flowering plants in the order Brassicales, comprising about 300 species in 10 genera. These genera were previously included in the family Capparaceae, but were raised to a distinct family when DNA evidence showed that the genera included in it are more closely...
known by the common names golden bee plant and golden spiderflower. It is native to the western United States from northeastern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, including the Modoc Plateau
Modoc Plateau
The Modoc Plateau lies in the northeast corner of California as well as parts of Oregon and Nevada. It is a mile-high expanse of lava flows with cinder cones, juniper flats, pine forests, and seasonal lakes. The plateau is thought to have been formed approximately 25 million years ago...
, where it grows on clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
and volcanic soils
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
in the sagebrush
Sagebrush
Sagebrush is a common name of a number of shrubby plant species in the genus Artemisia native to western North America;Or, the sagebrush steppe ecoregion, having one or more kinds of sagebrush, bunchgrasses and others;...
. It is an annual herb branching at the base into several erect stems up to about 60 centimeters tall. The stems are green tinted with purple, coated densely in glandular hairs, and lined with many leaves. Each leaf is divided into three small leaflets. The top of each stem is occupied by a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of many flowers. Each flower has generally four yellow sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s and four yellow petals around a center of many yellow stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s. The fruit is a flat, hairy capsule up to 2.5 centimeters long which hangs on the long, remaining flower receptacle.
Some Plateau Indian tribes used an infusion of golden spiderflower to treat children's colds
Common cold
The common cold is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system, caused primarily by rhinoviruses and coronaviruses. Common symptoms include a cough, sore throat, runny nose, and fever...
, and rubbed on a mash to treat fever
Fever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
s.