Peritoma serrulata (Pink Cleome) - photos and description

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

General: Upright annual with a branching growth habit. Plants leafy, glabrous, glaucous. Foliage has an unpleasant aroma.

Flowers: Flowers pink in a globose raceme, flowers have four petals and stamens which protrude well beyond the petals. We measured a flower at 16 mm diameter.

Leaves: Leaves opposite or alternate, trifoliate, leaflets elliptical, we measured a large leaflet at 37 mm long and 8 mm wide.

Height: Budd's Flora lists the height to 100 cm, we measured plants to 43 cm tall.

Habitat: Sandy soil in southwestern Saskatchewan.

Abundance: Common.

Origin: Native.

Synonym: Listed in some of the field guides we use as Cleome serrulata.

When and where photographed: The above photos were taken August 8th, sandy prairie about 375 km west of Regina, SK, and August 16th, sand blow-out on prairie, about 350 km west of our home in Regina, SK.