Cleome monophyllaL.

single-leaved cleomespider flowerspindlepod

WFO wfo-0000611439 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Cleome monophylla, photographed by Dr. Alexey Yakovlev
fig. a Dr. Alexey Yakovlev, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-12-24 / obs. 676177031
Cleome monophylla, photographed by Haneesh K M
fig. b Haneesh K M, CC0 1.0 / obs. 136512605
Cleome monophylla, photographed by Matthew Fainman
fig. c Matthew Fainman, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 124615037
Cleome monophylla, photographed by Matthew Fainman
fig. d Matthew Fainman, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 118556410
Cleome monophylla, photographed by Antoinette Eyssell Knox
fig. e Antoinette Eyssell Knox, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 114611540
Cleome monophylla, photographed by Matthew Fainman
fig. f Matthew Fainman, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 109725366
Cleome monophylla, photographed by Matthew Fainman
fig. g Matthew Fainman, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 108793755
Cleome monophylla, photographed by Matthew Fainman
fig. h Matthew Fainman, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 73306014

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 39 botanical countries

Regions where Cleome monophylla is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Chad, DR Congo, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Yemen, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesChadDR CongoEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateGhanaGuineaKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaUgandaZambiaZimbabweYemenIndiaMyanmarSri Lanka
Native distribution of Cleome monophylla, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Chad CHA
DR Congo ZAI
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Lesotho LES
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
India IND ASIA-TROPICAL
Myanmar MYA
Sri Lanka SRL
Yemen YEM ASIA-TEMPERATE

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 8 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Cleome cordata Burch. ex DC.
  • Cleome epilobioides Baker
  • Cleome massae Chiov.
  • Cleome monophylla var. cordata (Burch. ex DC.) Sond.
  • Cleome monophylla var. madagascariensis Hadj-Moust.
  • Cleome subcordata Steud. ex Oliv.
  • Sieruela monophylla (L.) Roalson & J.C.Hall
  • Sieruela viscosa Raf.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.