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:
Annual


Height:
120 cm
(4 feet)

Flowering:
July to
August

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 known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.