Japanese name: アフリカフウチョウソウ（アフリカ風蝶草） Scientific name:Cleome rutidosperma
[Overview]
An annual about 10–50 cm tall.
The stem branches well at the base and is erect, but when it reaches a height of about 15 cm it falls over and creeps along the ground, extending up to 100 cm in length.
The leaves are alternate and trifoliate; the terminal leaflet is elliptic, 2.3–4.3 cm, and entire.
The flowers are solitary in the leaf axils and have 4 petals, all facing upward.
The flower color changes from pale bluish purple to reddish purple as the flower ages.
The flowers have stalks 4 cm long.
The fruit is a capsule 5–7 cm long.
The seeds have an appendage (elaiosome) that ants favor, and they are carried and dispersed by ants.
[History]
It was confirmed in Kobe, Hyogo in 1998, and is naturalized from Honshu to Okinawa.
