medicinal herbs
Yellow Spiderflower
Cleome lutea
Herb: Yellow Spiderflower
Latin name: Cleome lutea
Family: Capparidaceae (Caper Family)
Medicinal use of Yellow Spiderflower:
The plant has been used to treat ant bites.Description of the plant:
Plant:
AnnualHeight:
120 cm(4 feet)
Flowering:
July toAugust
Habitat of the herb:
Sandy soils on desert plains to lower montane valleys, it is also found on sandy flatland.Edible parts of Yellow Spiderflower:
Young shoots - cooked. Seed - ground into a meal and used as a flour.Other uses of the herb:
Yields a black dye. No further details are given, but it is probably obtained by boiling down the whole plant.Propagation of Yellow Spiderflower:
Seed - surface sow or only lightly cover the seed in spring in a greenhouse. The seed usually germinates in 5 - 14 days at 25°C. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in late spring. Day time temperatures below 20°C depress germination but a night time fall to 20° is necessary.Cultivation of the herb:
Sandy soils on desert plains to lower montane valleys, it is also found on sandy flatland.Known hazards of Cleome lutea:
None knownPlant information taken from the Plants For A Future.