Cleomaceae

Cleome Family

Beeplants

FAMILY: Cleome family (Cleomaceae) – Cleome genus. The cleome family was formerly placed in the caper family (Capparaceae).

SPECIES: #1 yellow beeplant or spiderflower (Cleome lutea Hook. = Peritoma lutea (Hook.) Raf.). #2 purple or Rocky Mountain beeplant or spiderflower (Cleome serrulata Pursh = Peritoma serrulata (Pursh) DC.).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Leaves, flowers, and seeds of both species listed above are edible. The flavor of these parts is unappealing, but not completely objectionable. Beeplants have a peculiar aroma characteristic of the cleome family. Entire plants can be gathered in spring or summer, boiled to eliminate the strong flavor, and sun-dried into hard cakes. Alternatively, entire plants can simply be dried for future use. Purple beeplant was cultivated by the Pueblo Indians (Hanelt pp. 1409-1410), and archaeological excavations indicate that it was commonly eaten in ancient times (Dunmire 1995 p. 184). Beeplants are easy to grow, well adapted to arid climates, and beautiful in bloom. Colonies can turn entire hillsides striking shades of yellow and purple in spring and summer.

Purple beeplant (C. serrulata) leaves are strongly malodorous, somewhat like a combination of spicy mustard, green beans, wilted lettuce, rotten apples, old tires, and sweat. It’s an aroma failing to inspire thoughts of a good meal. The matching flavor is equally uninspiring. Purple beeplants are leafy and grow in colonies, especially along washes and roadsides. Collecting a quantity is easy, but eating a quantity is a little more difficult. Cooking the leaves in a change of water is recommended. After cooking, the flavor remains foul, but thankfully it’s not too acrid, soapy, bitter, resinous, or peppery. Boiled leaves can be dried and formed into cakes. Once dry, these cakes turn greenish-black, smell like seaweed, and acquire a texture similar to stale rice cakes. Although the flavor isn’t very appealing, these cakes are a valuable resource. Seasonings can be of assistance with palatability. Purple beeplants aren’t as spicy as yellow beeplants. Drying either of them for future use is best done outdoors. Otherwise, air freshener may be needed to reclaim a clean scent indoors. Due to the abundance of bugs, fungi, and diseases, cooking the leaves prior to long-term storage is wise. Purple beeplant leaf cakes are ready-to-eat and keep well in storage. Leaves wither when seedpods appear. Overall, the leaves are a valuable resource.

Purple beeplant seedpods look similar to green beans, but that’s where the similarities end. The texture and aroma are considerably different. Except when very young, the seedpods have no fleshy portions. They’re just seeds strung on wires clothed by two skin-like halves. Developing seeds are whitish and about the only chewable part of the young pods. The two skin-like halves covering the seeds turn from green to tan and eventually fall away. Green skins are partially chewable, but mostly fibrous and gum-like. Tan skins are unchewable. Only the youngest seedpods are suitable for consumption. Cooking has little effect upon texture, so indiscriminately tossing the seedpods into soups, salads, or stir-fries could have disastrous results. Overall, seedpods of purple beeplant are unappealing and they tend to be wormy.

Purple beeplant seeds are light yellow with bumpy black coats. Unlike other parts of the plants, the seeds lack pungency in flavor and aroma. Beeplant seeds are not a seasoning. They’re an aberration of a seasoning. They taste bitter, foul, and somewhat like “fenugreek gone terribly wrong.” For readers without much culinary experience, fenugreek is a seasoning. Toasting masks the flavor somewhat, but it remains unappealing. Much of the bitterness is confined to the black shells. Removing the shells is impractical, especially since they coil around the seeds. With sufficient heat, the seeds can be popped, but most of them choose to remain intact. They won’t cooperate as a “popcorn substitute.” Raw or cooked seeds are delicately crunchy and about 80% chewable. Shells account for the 20% that’s unchewable. When coarsely ground and placed in water, shells tend to sink and seeds tend to float. This action makes it possible to separate the two, but the procedure isn’t exactly flawless. The seeds are rich in oil and slightly more buoyant than the shells. The seeds also taste better than the shells. Except for flavor, beeplant seeds make a fairly decent wild food. They’re naturally ready-to-eat, ready-to-store, and easy to gather and process.

Yellow beeplant (C. lutea) is roughly equivalent to purple beeplant in terms of edibility. The leaves, flowers, and seedpods are very spicy when eaten fresh. Even the aroma is spicy. Boiling reduces the intensity several degrees, yet fails to improve the overpowering flavor that could be described as “rancid green peas spiked with white pepper.” Eating a meal consisting only of yellow beeplants would not be the most pleasant experience, but it would not be impossible. Caution is advised when blending yellow beeplants with other wild foods because the strong flavor can easily overrun less flavorful ingredients. Yellow beeplant thrives across the Southwest.

NOTES: Beeplants are important resources. Any foragers considering the southwestern United States should be familiar with these plants. Finding and identifying beeplants is easy, so they’re good plants for new foragers to learn. Purple beeplant seems to be the best species in the cleome genus, perhaps it’s the best in the cleome family. It was the southwestern species most often used as food by Native Americans. All my experiences with beeplants confirmed that these are good plants to know and somehow inspired a profound connection to the region, as if I was living in history.

IDENTIFICATION: Approximately 15 species of the Cleome genus are found in the United States, of which about 5 occur in the Southwest, Great Basin, and Rocky Mountains.

Description of yellow beeplant (Cleome lutea): FORM malodorous annual plant about 3-17 dm tall emerging from taproots; stems lacking glandular hairs; LEAVES alternate; palmately compound; stalked; stipules small and bristle-like; leaflets usually 4-5; blades lance-elliptic; margins entire; surfaces hairless, finely hairy, or powdery; FLOWERS nearly regular, perfect, ovary superior, and arranged in terminal racemes; sepals 4, united at the bases; petals 4, free, yellow, and about 4-11 mm long; stamens 6; FRUITS siliques cylindrical, tapered at both ends, long-stalked (stipes about equaling pedicels), weakly compressed, weakly constricted around the seeds, descending, and 15-60 mm long; HABITAT fields, flooded areas, barren areas, disturbed areas, and watercourses throughout the Southwest; blooming April to October. NOTES: Varieties (jonesii and lutea) are based on the size of various parts. Two additional species enter the northwestern extremity of the Southwest: broadpod cleome (C. platycarpa) that produces flat, broad, oval silicles; and littleleaf cleome (C. sparsifolia) distinguishable by its steeply ascending siliques. No other species look similar.

Description of purple beeplant (Cleome serrulata): FORM malodorous annual plant about 3-17 dm tall emerging from taproots; stems lacking glandular hairs; LEAVES alternate; palmately compound; stalked; stipules small and bristle-like; leaflets usually 3; blades lance-elliptic; margins entire; surfaces hairless or finely hairy; FLOWERS nearly regular, perfect, ovary superior, and arranged in terminal racemes; sepals 4, united at the bases, and persistent; petals 4, free, pinkish-purple, and about 4-11 mm long; stamens 6; FRUITS siliques cylindrical, tapered at both ends, long-stalked (stipes about equaling pedicels), weakly compressed, weakly constricted around the seeds, descending, and 20-70 mm long; seeds numerous; HABITAT fields, flooded areas, barren areas, disturbed areas, and watercourses throughout the Southwest; blooming April to October. NOTES: Slender spiderflower (C. multicaulis = C. sonorae) primarily of Colorado and New Mexico is distinguishable by its nearly sessile leaves with linear leaflets and short siliques about 10-15 mm long.

REFERENCES: #1 yellow beeplant (Cleome lutea): leaves, flowers, and seeds Ebeling (pp. 43-44). #2 purple beeplant (Cleome serrulata): leaves, flowers, and seeds Couplan (p. 156), Dunmire (1995 pp. 182-184), and others.

Twisted Cleomella

FAMILY: Cleome family (Cleomaceae) – Cleomella genus.

SPECIES: Twisted cleomella, alkali stinkweed, or little spiderflower (Cleomella plocasperma S. Watson).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Leaves of twisted cleomella are edible fresh or cooked. However, they need to be cooked to improve their disagreeable flavor. When eaten fresh, they taste pungent, which may explain their abundance among herds of hungry cattle. Other grazing animals likewise avoid these plants. Even just a few fresh leaves can ruin a salad mixture, and a salad consisting entirely of twisted cleomella leaves would be cruel to the taste buds. Cooking effectively subdues the spicy flavor and foul aroma, so twisted cleomella is fine as a potherb. All the aboveground parts, except for the stem bases, become mushy when simmered. Collectively, they produce a deep green broth. Cooked leaves can be dried and formed into cakes like those described under cleome. Overall, twisted cleomella is a fair resource, but it’s only common in certain areas.

NOTES: The various cleomellas are also called stinkweeds, for reasons immediately understood when handling fresh plants. The human sense of smell is often underrated. Even though animals may have better senses, humans have better brains, so our ability to interpret that sensory information compensates for any deficiencies in those senses. Even with our limited senses, we can identify certain plants or groups of plants using only the sense of smell. The cleome family is one of those groups. Almost everything in this family has a strong aroma characteristic of the family. When checking the aroma of wild plants, I usually rub the part I’m checking between my fingers, close my eyes to minimize distractions, and smell the part. I’ll admit I once did this with poison ivy! It was the tree form of poison ivy, which is common in the southwestern United States. At first, I thought it was a small hop tree (Ptelea trifoliata), which has similar-looking leaves with a distinctive aroma. The leaves in question did not have a hop tree aroma, which struck me as odd until I realized my mistake. Luckily, no adverse effects ensued. Testing cleomellas is much safer. My field notes for twisted cleomella were based on colonies from western Utah. This plant is found primarily in the Great Basin, which is roughly the state of Nevada and adjacent areas of surrounding states. Within this region, foragers will most likely find twisted cleomella around dry lakes or salt marshes. Habitat is important to plants, so always consider the habitat when searching for a meal and always use every sense when identifying plants. Twisted cleomella is “locally abundant,” which means it only thrives in certain areas. Its importance to Native Americans as well as to modern-day foragers appears to be minor, but every potential source of food is good to know.

IDENTIFICATION: The Cleomella genus is represented by about 10 species in the United States, most of which are found in alkaline meadows scattered across the West. Distribution patterns are helpful in determining species. Cleomellas are easily distinguished from other members of the cleome family by their diamond-shaped seedpods. No other species in the Cleomella genus have all the features listed below for twisted cleomella.

Description of twisted cleomella (Cleomella plocasperma): FORM malodorous annual plant about 10-60 cm tall emerging from taproots; generally with well-defined central stems; LEAVES alternate; palmately compound or the upper ones simple; leaflets usually 3; blades linear-oblong; margins entire; surfaces hairless or sparsely covered with rough hairs; FLOWERS sub-regular, perfect, ovary superior, and arranged in terminal racemes rising well above the leaves; sepals 4; petals 4, yellow, and free; stamens 6; FRUITS silicles broadly diamond-shaped, about 2-5 mm wide by nearly as long; stipes well developed, about 4-12 mm long, equaling the pedicels; seeds few; HABITAT alkaline lowlands of the Great Basin; blooming May to September.

REFERENCES: Twisted cleomella (Cleomella plocasperma): leaves Couplan (p. 156).

Spiderbush

FAMILY: Cleome family (Cleomaceae) – Peritoma genus, formerly the Isomeris genus. Scientists disagree about the name of this genus, so the name varies.

SPECIES: Spiderbush, burrofat, or bladderpod spiderflower (Peritoma arborea var. arborea (Nutt.) Iltis = Isomeris arborea Nutt. = Cleome isomeris Greene).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Spiderbush has edible leaves, flowers, young seedpods, and seeds, but the fitness of these parts to serve as food is debatable.

Spiderbush leaves and flowers are terrible in salads and have disastrous results when used as potherbs. Fresh leaves and flowers taste spicy, foul, and nasty. It’s an oppressive flavor. Boiling improves the flavor, but the improvement is minor. Since unappealing flavors readily transfer into the cooking water, these parts should be cooked alone. Adding them directly to soup would promptly ruin the batch. Cooking them separately and draining the wastewater is the best option. Marinating the leaves and flowers in vinegar improves the flavor, but nothing improves it enough. Spiderbushes become masses of yellow flowers from February to May or potentially anytime depending on rainfall. Emerging flower buds can be used like capers, which are the flower buds of a related shrub (Capparis spinosa) native to the Mediterranean Region.

Spiderbush seedpods taste about as good as they smell, which ranges from nasty to offensive. After several days in storage, the pungent aroma partially dissipates, but the foul flavor persists. Young seedpods are 25-35 mm long, dull green, and plum-shaped. Except for 2 rows of seeds along the margins, they’re completely hollow. Skins are thin and moist. After preparation, the flavor is tolerable, but the texture remains tough. Even the youngest seedpods are tough. Fibers eventually break up with enough chewing, but these seedpods should be considered more gum-like than food-like. Fresh or dried seedpods will ruin the flavor of anything they come in contact with. Preparing them alone or with spicy foods is wise. They combine well with onions and cayenne peppers. A zesty stir-fry is one solution to the flavor problem. Another solution is to lightly char the seedpods. Charring masks the unappealing flavors. Spiderbushes are common at low elevations in the parched mountains of southern California and southward into the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. Young seedpods are available primarily from late spring to early summer, or occasionally later depending on rainfall. Old seedpods turn brown and dry out, at which point they become inedible, except as a source of seeds. Seeds were not evaluated for this reference. They’re produced in abundance, but they’re not expected to taste very good. Overall, spiderbush seedpods are a poor-quality wild food.

NOTES: Spiderbush seems to be a wild food of desperate times. It’s not the worst wild food I’ve tasted, but it’s a long way from the best. The parts I sampled were primarily from Shavers Valley in southern California and a forgotten roadside location somewhere in the Mojave Desert. Abundance and reliability make spiderbush an asset to foragers. Without these qualities, this shrub would have no value. In the past, the Cahuilla Indians of southern California used the young seedpods as food. Presently, the seedpods are no longer used as food by these people. Considering the flavor, this should not be a surprise. The Kawaiisu Indians, also of southern California, ate the flowers. Flowers often taste better than leaves, but flowers of spiderbushes taste as bad as the leaves. Other native people of the United States and Mexico ate various parts of spiderbush, but the parts are never described as appealing. Of all the cleome family members I tried, spiderbush was the worst.

IDENTIFICATION: The Peritoma genus (also known as the Isomeris genus) is represented by a single species in the United States that’s endemic to the deserts of southern California.

Description of spiderbush (Peritoma arborea): FORM malodorous shrub about 10-25 dm tall; LEAVES alternate; compound or the upper ones simple; stalked; leaflets usually 3; blades narrowly elliptic; FLOWERS nearly regular, perfect, ovary superior, and arranged in racemes terminating the branches; sepals 4, green, united at the bases; petals 4, yellow, and free; stamens 6, yellow; FRUITS capsules plump, ellipsoid, hollow, tapering to points; seeds numerous; HABITAT deserts of southern California; blooming February to May or potentially anytime.

REFERENCES: Spiderbush (Peritoma arborea = Isomeris arborea = Cleome isomeris): leaves, flowers, and immature fruits Hodgson (p. 147); fruits Barrows (p. 66) and Bean (pp. 79-80); seeds Moerman (p. 86).

Redwhisker Clammyweed

FAMILY: Cleome family (Cleomaceae) – Polanisia genus.

SPECIES: Redwhisker, sandyseed, or western clammyweed (Polanisia dodecandra (L.) DC. ssp. trachysperma (Torr. & A. Gray) Iltis).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Leaves of redwhisker clammyweed can be prepared as potherbs. A rank aroma permeates all parts of this plant. Despite the aroma, the flavor and texture are agreeable after preparation. Cooked leaves taste similar to a combination of green peas, clovers, and beeplants. The flavor is free of acrid, bitter, and resinous overtones. It also lacks the spicy kick seen in other members of the cleome family. Differences between young and old leaves are minor. Both are tender and taste about the same. Cooking turns the leaves to mush. Redwhisker clammyweed is abundant, responsive to rainfall, adapted to a diversity of habitats, and available over a long period of time. Younger plants tend to be healthier than older plants. Overall, redwhisker clammyweed is a good resource.

NOTES: Field evaluations for redwhisker clammyweed were based primarily on populations from the Mimbres Mountains of southwestern New Mexico. Mimbres is the Spanish word for willow. I’ve been to many places in the Southwest, and I can say with certainty that the Mimbres Mountains are an excellent place to forage. They contain a diversity of wild plants that foragers can depend on throughout the year. Clammy means disagreeably moist, cold, and sticky, all of which describe redwhisker clammyweed perfectly. The reddish filaments represent the whiskers. Very little has been written about this plant. Edward Castetter (1935-a p. 25, cited as Polanisia trachysperma) indicated that the Acoma and Laguna Indians of New Mexico called the plant “waku” and prepared it like purple beeplant (Cleome serrulata). Redwhisker clammyweed ranks among the best-tasting species of the cleome family, along with purple beeplant and jackass clover.

IDENTIFICATION: The Polanisia genus is represented by 5 species in the United States, of which only 2 occur in the Southwest. Only redwhisker clammyweed (P. dodecandra) is widespread.

Description of redwhisker clammyweed (Polanisia dodecandra): FORM malodorous, hairy, annual plant about 20-90 cm tall; LEAVES alternate; compound; stalked; leaflets 3; blades elliptic-obovate; margins entire; surfaces densely covered with sticky hairs; FLOWERS irregular, perfect, ovary superior, and arranged in terminal racemes; sepals 4, free, and deciduous; petals 4, free, about 8-12 mm long, and white or pink; stamens 6-24 and of unequal length; filaments long, showy, whisker-like, and reddish-purple; FRUITS siliques long, narrow, banana-like, sticky-haired, and pointing upward; seeds numerous; HABITAT plains, washes, sandy soils, and open hillsides across the United States; blooming May to October. NOTES: Western plants belong to the trachysperma subspecies.

REFERENCES: Redwhisker clammyweed (Polanisia dodecandra ssp. trachysperma): young plants Castetter (1935-a p. 25, cited as Polanisia trachysperma).

Jackass Clover

FAMILY: Cleome family (Cleomaceae) – Wislizenia genus.

SPECIES: Jackass clover, mule clover, or spectacle fruit (Wislizenia refracta Engelm.).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Leaves and flowers of jackass clover are edible after cooking. These parts can be prepared as those of beeplants (described in the Cleome genus). Jackass clover is a tall plant, easily reaching heights over 2 meters. Despite its large size, it’s only sparsely leafy and each leaf has 3 small leaflets. Jackass clover appears in response to summer rainfall. The leaves taste mild compared to those of other family members. Pungent, spicy, and odorous qualities are minimal in these leaves. They easily rank among the best in the family, and the flowers taste equally mild. Harvesting only the leaves is tedious. Stripping all the parts off the stems is more expedient and works until the fruits dry out. Once the fruits dry out, the tips become spiny. Developing fruits still in the green stage are tender enough to chew. Leaves and flowers are equally tender. With such an abundance of flowers, jackass clover attracts a lot of insects that inadvertently end up in the collection. Historically, this would not be considered a problem. Bees congregate around this plant, so gathering it with a gentle hand is wise. Spiders also hide among the flowers. Overall, jackass clover is an excellent wild food.

IDENTIFICATION: Only 1 species of the Wislizenia genus is found in the United States. It has 3 subspecies, all of which are limited to the Southwest. The refracta subspecies grows from Texas to California. The other 2 subspecies, Palmeri and californica, are limited to California. Jackass clovers are easy to recognize, especially when fruits are present.

Description of jackass clover (Wislizenia refracta): FORM robust annual plant about 3-15 dm tall from taproots; LEAVES alternate; compound (usually palmately trifoliate) or the upper ones simple; leaflets 1-3; blades elliptic-obovate; margins entire; surfaces usually hairless; FLOWERS sub-regular, perfect, ovary superior, and arranged in numerous terminal racemes; sepals 4; petals 4, yellow, and free; stamens 6, much longer than the petals; FRUITS schizocarps consisting of 2 nutlets attached to a stalk-like stipe (bent or refracted above the pedicels) topped by a persistent awn-like style; each nutlet normally with 1 seed; HABITAT floodplains, shores of seasonally dry lakes, and open lowland meadows; blooming July to October.

REFERENCES: Jackass clover (Wislizenia refracta): leaves and flowers Ebeling (pp. 488-489).