Peritoma arborea

Peritoma arborea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Cleomaceae
Genus: Peritoma
Species: P. arborea
Binomial name
Peritoma arborea
(Nutt.) Iltis
Synonyms
  • Cleome isomeris Greene
  • Isomeris arborea Nutt.

Peritoma arborea (formerly Isomeris arborea,[1] syn. Cleome isomeris), is a perennial shrub or bush in the spiderflower family (Cleomaceae) known by the common names bladderpod, burrofat, and California cleome.[2] It has yellow flowers in bloom all months of the year.[2] It has a foul smelling odor from chemicals it produces to discourage insects from eating it.[2]

Range and habitat

It is commonly found along roadsides, desert dry washes, and flat areas up to 4,000', in the western Mojave Desert and Colorado Desert to Baja California Peninsula.[2] It is native to California and Baja California Peninsula where it grows in a variety of habitats from coastal bluffs to desert arroyos.

Growth pattern

It is a densely branching shrub reaching 2'-5; in height.[2]

Leaves and stems

Its leaves are made up of three equal leaflets 1/2" to 2" (1-4 cm) long, oval to elliptic in shape and pointed at the tip.[2]

Flowers and fruit

The plant produces abundant inflorescences at the ends of the stem branches all year.[2] Each flowers has four bright yellow petals, four yellow sepals, six whiskery protruding stamens with curling tips holding the anthers.

At the middle is a long, protruding style which holds the developing fruit at its tip.

A typical inflorescence bears a number of unopened flower buds at its tip, open flowers proximal to the buds, and maturing fruits which have shed their flowers below these.

The fruit is an inflated leathery capsule about 4 centimeters long and usually oval in shape.[2] It is smooth and green when new, aging to light brown.

In the previous genus name, "Iso" means "equal", and "meris" means "part", referring to how the pod is divided equally.[3]

Cleome isomeris, Joshua Tree National Park, March 2005. This plant was five or six feet high and loaded with flowers from top to bottom.

References

  1. ↑ Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd Ed. 2013, P. 314
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 230
  3. ↑ Flowering Plants of the Santa Monica Mountains, Nancy Dale, 2nd Ed., 2000, p. 89
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