cleome

[klee-oh-mee]

noun

any of numerous strong-smelling plants or shrubs belonging to the genus Cleome, of the caper family, mostly natives of tropical regions, and often bearing showy flowers.

Origin of cleome

< New Latin (Linnaeus), of uncertain origin

Also called spider plant.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cleome

Historical Examples of cleome

The Malope grandiflora and the Cleome are fine tall annuals.
A Treatise on Domestic Economy
Catherine Esther Beecher
There are several kinds of Cleomella, resembling Cleome, except that the pods are different.
Field Book of Western Wild Flowers
Margaret Armstrong
For this purpose they often use the dry, brittle stalks of the common bee weed (Cleome pungens).
Navaho Houses, pages 469-518
Cosmos Mindeleff
Its therapeutic properties are identical with those of the Cleome viscosa.
The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines
T. H. Pardo de Tavera

British Dictionary definitions for cleome

cleome

noun

any herbaceous or shrubby plant of the mostly tropical capparidaceous genus Cleome, esp C. spinosa, cultivated for their clusters of white or purplish flowers with long stamens

Word Origin for cleome

C19: New Latin, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012