A TAXONOMIC REVISION OF THE GENUS CLEOME L. (CAPPARACEAE) IN BANGLADESH

The available record of the genus Cleome L. for Bangladesh has been updated in this paper and includes C. diffusa, C. gynandra, C. hassleriana, C. rutidosperma and C. viscosa. The updating has been done in case of nomenclature with important synonyms, local names, description of the taxa along with illustrations, flowering and fruiting times, ecological notes, specimens examined and their geographical distribution. For identification of the species, a dichotomous bracketed key has been added in this paper. Information on chromosome number and economic importance have also been provided where available.


Introduction
The genus Cleome was first described by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, Vol. 2 in 1753.The genus is represented by more than 150 species in pantropical and subtropical regions of the world (Jacobs 1960).Many of them in America, in the Old world (c.65 spp.), mostly in Africa and the Middle East.There are eight species in Malaysia, of which two are cultivated and the others are native or introduced.Many species have been introduced into other continents as aliens and are widely spread as weeds (Jacobs 1960).There are about 15 species in India (Raghavan 1993).
Taxonomic revision of the genus Cleome L. in Bangladesh has not been done.Hooker and Thomson (1872) mentioned 12 species of Cleome L. and one species of Gynandropsis, G. pentaplylla which is now treated as Cleome gynandra, from British India.Prain (1903) recorded only five species including the species of Gynandropsis for the greater Bengal of which only two fall in the territory of Bangladesh.Khan et al. (1978) recorded two species of Cleome, viz. C. rutidosperma and C. hassleriana for Bangladesh.Yusuf (1989) also recorded one species of Cleome, C. diffusa, for Bangladesh.A literature survey including Heinig (1925), Kanjilal et al. (1934), Datta and Mitra (1953), Sinclair (1955), Khan and Banu (1972), Khan et al. (1994), Mia and Khan (1995), Rahman and Hassan (1995), Rahman and Uddin (1997), Uddin et al. (1998), Rashid et al. (2000), Rahman (2004aRahman ( , 2004b) ) and the study of herbarium materials of Bangladesh National Herbarium (DACB) and Dhaka University Herbarium (DUH) reveals that only five species have so far been reported from Bangladesh, viz.Cleome diffusa, C. gynandra, C. hassleriana, C. rutidosperma and C. viscosa.The present paper updates the available record of the genus Cleome for Bangladesh and includes important synonyms, descriptions of the taxa with illustrations, flowering and fruiting times, ecological notes and geographical distribution.L., Sp. Pl. 2: 671 (1753).
Annual or perennial herbs, sometimes woody at base, often hairy, sometimes glandular-hairy, some thorny.Stipules absent or sometimes with short spine-like (thorn).
Ecology: Grows along roadsides, edges of rice fields and sandy river banks.Geographical distribution: Sri Lanka to southeast and east Asia, Malesia, Africa (type) and America.
Native in south-east Asia, southern, eastern and central Africa, central America, Philippines and Indonesia, or Native to west tropical Africa (type), introduced to Burma and Malesia.Asian spider flower, Tickweed.