Cleome hassleriana (Spider flower)

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Cleome hassleriana Chod.

Spider flower, spider plant, pink queen

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Brassicales	Mustard, cabbage, caper, papaya, nasturtiums, many others; most produce mustard oil
Family	Cleomaceae	Caper family
Genus	Cleome	An ancient name of some mustard-like plant
Species	hassleriana	For Émile Hassler, Swiss physician, ethnographer, naturalist and botanist well known for his collections and contributions to the description of the flora of Paraguay

About plant names...

Spider flower is native to Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and southeastern Brazil, and sometimes escapes from gardens to become naturalized in the United States. These striking flowers have been cultivated into many variants.

Plants: Plants are erect annuals, up to 5′ (1.5 m) in height, with round, slightly ridged stems.

Leaves: Arranged in a spiral pattern around the stem. Leaves are palmate—shaped like fingers on a hand—with 5 or 7 leaflets. Each leaflet is narrowly oval, toothed, finely hairy, up to 4½″ (12 cm) × 1½″ (4 cm), on petioles (leaf stems) up to 6″ (15 cm) long.

Flowers: In compact racemes at stem tips. Purple, pink, or white, strongly scented, with four petals and six long, graceful stamens. Flowers appear from June to frost.

Fruits: Capsules up to 6″ (15 cm) × ⅛″ (3 mm).

These are somewhat similar:

6/22/2014 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 28 cm)

	*Polanisia dodecandra ssp. trachysperma*	You are here Cleome hassleriana	*Cleome serrulata*
Common Name	large-flowered redwhisker clammyweed	spider flower	rocky mountain beeplant
Plant	1-2′ (30-60 cm) tall. The stem is usually unbranched, and green to reddish purple. Both the stem and leaves are covered with sticky hairs. The plant has a strong odor.	Erect annuals, up to 5′ (1.5 m) in height, with round, slightly ridged stems.	A single erect stem is 4-59″ (10-150 cm) in height.
Flowers	Clusters of flowers are about 3″ (7.6 cm) around and up to 8″ (20 cm) high. Each flower has four white notched petals up to ⅜″ (9.5 mm) long, with prominent red stamens that are more than twice the length of the petals. Flowers appear from July to September.	In compact racemes at stem tips. Purple, pink, or white, strongly scented, with four petals and six long, graceful stamens. Flowers appear from June to frost.	Flowerheads are a spray of lavendar or pink flowers, each with four petals and four darker sepals. Green-tipped purplish stamens poke out from each flower. Almost looks like an exploding firework! Flowers appear from May to September.
Leaves	Near the base of the plant, leaves are in groups of three. Further up the stem, they are single, alternate, elliptic, and nearly sessile. The upper leaves remain roughly constant in size along the stem, at up to 1½″ (3.8 cm) × ½″ (1.3 cm). Leaf tips may be blunt or pointed.	Arranged in a spiral pattern around the stem. Leaves are palmate—shaped like fingers on a hand—with 5 or 7 leaflets. Each leaflet is narrowly oval, toothed, finely hairy, up to 4½″ (12 cm) × 1½″ (4 cm), on petioles (leaf stems) up to 6″ (15 cm) long.	Arranged spirally. Each leaf has three leaflets (trifoliate), often with tiny teeth. Each leaflet is ⅜-2½″ (1-7 cm) long.
Fruit	Yellowish green pods, on reddish stems emerging almost horizontally from the main stem, are angled upward. They remind me of a cross between a pea pod and a milkweed pod, though they are not related to either of these. Like the rest of the plant, the fruits are covered with sticky hairs.	Capsules up to 6″ (15 cm) × ⅛″ (3 mm).	Capsules similar to beanpods are 1-3″ (2.5-7.6 cm) long. Each contains several seeds.
Range/ Zones		USDA Zones: 2-11
Habitats	They prefer full sun and moderately moist to dry, gravelly or sandy soil. They are found on river banks, streamsides, roadsides, and other disturbed sites.	Gardens and occasional garden escapes.	Along roadsides, in disturbed soils, in meadows, or in rangelands. They prefer dryer climates at elevations of 3000-9500′ (914-2895 m).
Type	Wild	Escaped cultivar	Wild