Herbs annual or perennating, branched from below, 30-60 cm tall, hairy with thin glandular and eglandular hairs; leaves simple, suborbicular to broadly ovate, often cordate or subcordate, with obtuse to subrounded apex, sometimes slightly apiculate; blade (10-) 20-40 (-60) mm long, (10-) 20-35 (-40) mm broad, more or less 5-veined, margin not ciliate with stout stalked glands; petiole 10-20 mm long, densely hairy. Flowers more or less similar as in the preceding species but style short, not more than 4 mm long. Fruits conspicuously linear, 20-30 mm long, 3-4 mm broad, apex acute and often very tapering, excl. 2-4 mm long style and about 1 mm long stipe, covered with stalked glands, often with persistent calyx at the base; seeds many, about 1 mm in diam., glabrous, minutely granulate, brownish.

Type: W. Pakistan; Sind, lower hills, Vicary (K).

Distribution: Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, W. Pakistan & Turcomania.

There can be no doubt now, that Cleome fimbriata Vicary and Cleome noeana Boiss. are conspecific, and the former being earlier published should be adopted as the valid name for the species. It is very similar to Cleome quinquenervia DC. but differs by its linear-acute fruits (and not oblong blunt-apexed fruit) only. This is also evident from Vicary's remarks “fruits linear-cylindric.. shortly stipitate....”

Cleome fimbriata Vic. was so far neglected, perhaps due to its inadequate type specimen at Kew, but the description and note of Vicary are quite clear & suffi¬cient to establish its valid publication. Surprisingly both Boissier and Hooker f. have said nothing about this species in their respective Floras. Hedge & Lamond (1970) have made a cursory remark about this species but left its status undecided. Earlier Jafri (l.c.) included it as a synonym of Cleome quinquenervia DC. not putting much stress on fruit shape. More careful studies have now revealed that Cleome quinquenervia DC., with its oblong, about 15 x 4 mm fruits with blunt or rounded apex, is said to be restricted to Iran, Afghanistan and Arabia, while Cleome fimbriata Vic. (Cleome noeana Boiss., Cleome griffithiana Rech. f.) with its linear, c 25 x 3.5 mm fruits with acute apex, is distributed from Iraq, Iran to West Pakistan. This species seems to be very vari¬able in leaf size and shape, inflorescence length and fruit size etc. and any varietal distinction will be valueless. Cleome dolichostyla Jafri with long style and stout stalked glands on leaves, can hardly be distinguished from Cleome quinquenervia DC. and Cleome fimbriata Vic. on any other character. All the three species, therefore belong to a common stock. They have similarity in general appearance, leaf shape, indumentum, fruit appearance and flower character having dimorphic petals, triangular limb with a small erect scale at the junction of limb and claw (Franchet in J. Bot. (Paris), 1: 17-18, 37-41. 1887).