Appearance
It is a densely branching shrub 0.5–2 metres high covered with tiny hairs. Its stalked leaves are generally composed of three equal leaflets 15–45 millimetres long, oval to elliptic in shape and pointed at the tip. The plant produces abundant inflorescences at the ends of the stem branches much of the year. The four sepals are fused about halfway from their base. Each flower has four bright yellow 8–14 millimetres long petals, six protruding 15–25 millimetres stamens with 2–2.5 millimetres anthers. The style is 0.9–1.2 millimetres or aborts before flowering. The fruit is a leathery prolate spheroid capsule 30–60 millimetres long and 10–25 millimetres wide on a 10–20 millimetres stalk. It is smooth and green when new, aging to light brown.A typical inflorescence bears a number of flower buds at its tip, open flowers proximal to the buds, and maturing fruits which have shed their flowers below these.
In the previous genus name, "Isomeris", ""iso"" means "equal", and ""meris"" means "part", referring to the stamens being of equal length.
Habitat
"Cleomella arborea" is commonly found along roadsides, desert dry washes, and flat areas up to 4,200 feet in the western Mojave Desert and Colorado Desert to the Baja California Peninsula. It is native to California and the Baja California Peninsula where it grows in a variety of habitats usually described as desert or brush.References:
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