Cleome rubella flowers

The flowers of Cleome rubella grow in terminal racemes, borne in the axils of leaf-like bracts. The calyx is small with pointed lobes.

The four round-tipped petals are rose-pink or mauve. This species usually has no yellow band on the petals. The stamens of unequal length protrude and curve up. Flowering happens from late spring to after mid-autumn. The flower stalk is a gynophore, bearing the ovary beyond the petals.

The fruit is a linear capsule from 2 cm to 3,5 cm long, covered in glandular hairs. The seeds are small and dark brown (Van Rooyen and Van Rooyen, 2019; Van Wyk and Malan, 1997; Germishuizen and Fabian, 1982; iNaturalist; www.botswanaflora.com).