Taxon: Gynandropsis gynandra (L.) Briq.

Summary

Genus:

Gynandropsis

Family:

Cleomaceae

Nomen number:

310077

Place of publication:

Annuaire Conserv. Jard. Bot. Genève 17:382. 1914

Protologue link:

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/39217022

Verified:

07/16/2010 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

35 (31 active, 31 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Cleome gynandra L.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Cleome pentaphylla L.
Gynandropsis pentaphylla (L.) DC.

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Bernal, R., S. R. Gradstein & M. Celis. 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal. Note: = Cleome gynandra L.
Hoang, N. V. et al. . 2023. The Gynandropsis gynandra genome provides insights into whole-genome duplications and the evolution of C4 photosynthesis in Cleomaceae. Pl. Cell 35:1334-1359. DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad018. Note: haploid genome size is estimated 930.3 Mb
Hokche, O. et al. 2008. Nuevo catálogo de la flora vascular de Venezuela. Note: = Cleome gynandra L.
Huang, C.-F. et al. . 2021. Whole-genome duplication facilitated the evolution of C4 photosynthesis in Gynandropsis gynandra . Molec. Biol. Evol. 38:4715-4731. DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab200.
Iltis, H. H. 1960. Studies in the Capparidaceae—VII Old World cleomes adventive in the New World. Brittonia 12:279-294. Note: = Cleome gynandra L.
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada Note: = Cleome gynandra L.
Macbride, J. F. et al., eds. 1936-. Flora of Peru Note: 1936-1971; new ser. 1980-
Mashamaite, C. V. et al. 2022. Cleome gynandra: A wonder climate-smart plant for nutritional security for millions in semi-arid areas. Front. Plant Sci. 13:1003080. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1003080.
Matthew, K. M. 1983. The flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic. Note: = Cleome gynandra L.
Migahid, A. M. 1978. Flora of Saudi Arabia, ed. 2.
Omondi, E. O. et al. . 2017. Mating biology, nuclear DNA content and genetic diversity in spider plant (Cleome gynandra) germplasm from various African countries. Pl. Breed. (New York) 136:578-589. DOI: 10.1111/pbr.12485. Note: as Cleome gynandra records 2n=34
Omondi, E. O. et al. . 2017. Nutritional compound analysis and morphological characterization of spider plant (Cleome gynandra)—an African indigenous leafy vegetable. Food Res. Int. 100:284-295. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2017.06.050. Note: as Cleome gynandra is recognized as an important leafy vegetable either cultivated in small scale or collected from the wild; it contains glucosinolates and flavonoids
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica. Note: = Cleome gynandra L.
Shilla, O. et al. 2019. Cleome gynandra L. origin, taxonomy and morphology: A review. African J. Agric. Res. 14:1568-1583. DOI: 10.5897/AJAR2019.14064. Note: as Cleome gynandra L.
Smith, A. C. 1979-1991. Flora vitiensis nova. Note: = Cleome gynandra L.
Sogbohossou, E. O. D. et al. 2018. A roadmap for breeding orphan leafy vegetable species: a case study of Gynandropsis gynandra (Cleomaceae). Hort. Res. 5, 2. Pages 1-15. DOI: 10.1038/s41438-017-0001-2. Note: Gynandropsis gynandra is economically important for local farmers in several countries in Africa; it is a species considered to have high potential as food and medicine; it has cultivars selected in central-eastern Africa
St. John, H. 1973. List and summary of the flowering plants in the Hawaiian islands
Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana. Note: = Cleome gynandra L.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	African spider-flower	as Cleome gynandra	1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Cleome gynandra
English	African-cabbage		1	Omondi, E. O. et al. . 2017. Mating biology, nuclear DNA content and genetic diversity in spider plant (Cleome gynandra) germplasm from various African countries. Pl. Breed. (New York) 136:578-589. DOI: 10.1111/pbr.12485. Note: as Cleome gynandra records 2n=34
English	bastard-mustard	as Cleome gynandra	1	Siemonsma, J. S. & Kasem Piluek, eds. 1993. Vegetables. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 8:148-149. Note: as Cleome gynandra
English	cat's-whisker		1	Omondi, E. O. et al. . 2017. Mating biology, nuclear DNA content and genetic diversity in spider plant (Cleome gynandra) germplasm from various African countries. Pl. Breed. (New York) 136:578-589. DOI: 10.1111/pbr.12485. Note: as Cleome gynandra records 2n=34
English	cat's-whiskers	as Cleome gynandra	1	Siemonsma, J. S. & Kasem Piluek, eds. 1993. Vegetables. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 8:148-149. Note: as Cleome gynandra
English	spiderplant		1	Omondi, E. O. et al. . 2017. Mating biology, nuclear DNA content and genetic diversity in spider plant (Cleome gynandra) germplasm from various African countries. Pl. Breed. (New York) 136:578-589. DOI: 10.1111/pbr.12485. Note: as Cleome gynandra records 2n=34
Arabic	abu qarn		2	Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
French	feuilles caya	as Cleome gynandra	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Cleome gynandra
French	mozambé	as Cleome gynandra	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Cleome gynandra
Spanish	acaya	as Cleome gynandra	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Cleome gynandra
Spanish	mouzambi	as Cleome gynandra	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Cleome gynandra
Spanish	volatín	as Cleome gynandra	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Cleome gynandra

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya		Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania		Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda		Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Somalia
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola		Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi		Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique		Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia		Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe		Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Botswana		Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Namibia		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Free State	Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Gauteng	Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal	Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Limpopo	Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Mpumalanga	Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Northern Cape	Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	North-West	Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Côte D'Ivoire
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Ghana
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Guinea
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Mali
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Mauritania
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Niger
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Nigeria
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Sierra Leone
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Burundi
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Cameroon
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Oman
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Yemen		Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Bangladesh
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Bhutan
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India		Matthew, K. M. 1983. The flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic. Note: = Cleome gynandra L.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Nepal		Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan		Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Sri Lanka
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Cambodia
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Laos
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Myanmar
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Thailand
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Vietnam
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia		Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia		Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Philippines		Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Papuasia	Papua New Guinea		Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
2	Cultivated	Africa		Africa		Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Indochina		Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Caribbean	West Indies		Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
4	Naturalized	Northern America		Mexico		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America		United States		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Southern America		South America		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	West Indies		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	Central America		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.

Native
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Côte D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Namibia, South Africa [KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Northern Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West]

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Oman, Yemen
CHINA: China

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan
PAPUASIA: Papua New Guinea
INDO-CHINA: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
MALESIA: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines

Cultivated
Africa

REGION: Africa

Asia-Tropical

INDO-CHINA: Indochina

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: West Indies

Naturalized
Northern America

REGION: Mexico, United States

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: West Indies
CENTRAL AMERICA: Central America
REGION: South America

Reference(s)

Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
Matthew, K. M. 1983. The flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic. Note: = Cleome gynandra L.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Food additives	flavoring	as Cleome gynandra	Iltis, H. H. 1960. Studies in the Capparidaceae—VII Old World cleomes adventive in the New World. Brittonia 12:279-294. Note: as Cleome gynandra
Harmful organism host	crop pests	as Cleome gynandra	Holm, L. et al. 1997. World weeds: natural histories and distribution John Wiley & Sons, New York, New York. 219. Note: as Cleome gynandra
Human food	vegetable		Omondi, E. O. et al. . 2017. Nutritional compound analysis and morphological characterization of spider plant (Cleome gynandra)—an African indigenous leafy vegetable. Food Res. Int. 100:284-295. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2017.06.050. Note: as Cleome gynandra is recognized as an important leafy vegetable either cultivated in small scale or collected from the wild; it contains glucosinolates and flavonoids
Human food	vegetable	as Cleome gynandra	Siemonsma, J. S. & Kasem Piluek, eds. 1993. Vegetables. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 8:148-149. Note: as Cleome gynandra
Human food	vegetable	leaves are eaten fresh or cooked, while flowers are boiled	Mashamaite, C. V. et al. 2022. Cleome gynandra: A wonder climate-smart plant for nutritional security for millions in semi-arid areas. Front. Plant Sci. 13:1003080. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1003080.
Human food	vegetable	potential	Sogbohossou, E. O. D. et al. 2018. A roadmap for breeding orphan leafy vegetable species: a case study of Gynandropsis gynandra (Cleomaceae). Hort. Res. 5, 2. Pages 1-15. DOI: 10.1038/s41438-017-0001-2. Note: Gynandropsis gynandra is economically important for local farmers in several countries in Africa; it is a species considered to have high potential as food and medicine; it has cultivars selected in central-eastern Africa
Medicines	folklore	as Cleome gynandra	McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland. Note: as Cleome gynandra
Non-vertebrate poisons	plant pest control	potential	Siemonsma, J. S. & Kasem Piluek, eds. 1993. Vegetables. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 8:148-149. Note: as Cleome gynandra
Weed		as Cleome gynandra	Iltis, H. H. 1960. Studies in the Capparidaceae—VII Old World cleomes adventive in the New World. Brittonia 12:279-294. Note: = Cleome gynandra L.
Weed		as Cleome gynandra	CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: as Cleome gynandra

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=310077. Accessed 17 April 2026.