Weed Biology and Management 19, 129–134 (2019)

TECHNICAL REPORT

A comprehensive study on occurrence records

of African neglected and underutilized weed
species, Cleome gynandra L. (cat’s whiskers)
validating the ecogeographical range expansion
in West Bengal, India
EKTA BHATTACHARYA, RAHUL BOSE and SUPARNA MANDAL BISWAS*
Agricultural and Ecological Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Cleome gynandra L., commonly known as cat’s whiskers, is an erect, branched, annual herb,
belonging to the family Cleomaceae. The species is thought to have originated in tropical
Africa and Southeast Asia, and thereafter have spread to other tropical and subtropical coun-
tries in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Cat’s whiskers is a highly nutritious vegeta-
ble and also possesses numerous medicinal values, yet it is considered as a neglected and
underutilized weed species (NUS) in most of the world. In India, C. gynandra is recorded in
Assam, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. There is no
earlier report of this species in West Bengal, India. This report is the first record of natural
occurrence of C. gynandra in West Bengal, India. The main objective of this report is to pro-
vide valid information about the invasion and naturalization of this species in a new geo-
graphical area supported with suitable data. Global distribution data of cat’s whiskers was
retrieved from available web resources and mapped using Quantum GIS software in order to
validate the de novo nature of occurrence of this species in this region.

Keywords: Cat’s whiskers, Cleome gynandra L., global distribution, NUS, Quantum GIS.

Cat’s whiskers (Cleome gynandra L.), is described as a
NUS, i.e., neglected and underutilized species by Ham-
mer et al. (2001). The species is thought to have origi-
nated in tropical Africa, from where it has spread to
other tropical and subtropical countries in the Northern
and Southern hemispheres (Chweya & Mnzava 1997).
Brown et al. (2005) and Feodorova et al. (2010) have
recognized the species to have a C4 photosynthetic
pathway, an adaptive mechanism that enables it to sur-
vive in drier and hot environments. It persists well in
Communicated by Hiroyuki Shibaike
*Correspondence to: Suparna Mandal Biswas, Agricultural and Eco-
logical Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, 203, B.T. Road,
Kolkata 700108, West Bengal, India.
Email: suparna@isical.ac.in
Received 3 October 2018; accepted 20 November 2019
doi:10.1111/wbm.12189
semiarid, subhumid, and humid climates, and is suited
to many soil types, but grows luxuriantly around rub-
bish dumps and soils supplied with organic manure.
The plant is a highly nutritious leafy vegetable with
rich source of vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, and
proteins. It is consumed by local people throughout
Africa (Jinazali et al. 2017; Omondi et al. 2017). In
some African countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Botswana, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, the
leaves and young tender shoots are sold in rural and
urban markets by rural women (Van den Heever &
Venter 2007). This vegetable resource plays a significant
role in nutrition, food security, and income generation
for the poor and the unemployed people in rural
populations in the Third World Country (Onyango
et al. 2013). Ethanol and aqueous extracts of
C. gynandra leaves possess the highest antinociceptive
activity (Ghogare et al. 2009). Flavonoids and tannins
observed in the active extracts are responsible for the
© 2019 Weed Science Society of Japan
130 E. Bhattacharya et al.
antinociceptive activity. The leaves of this plant
exhibit repellent and acaricidal properties to larvae,
nymphs, and adults of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and
Amblyomma variegatum ticks (Malonza et al. 1992).
Methanol extract of cat’s whisker shows powerful dose-
dependent anticancer properties (Bala et al. 2010)
against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in Swiss albino mice.
The extract helped in significantly reducing the volume
and weight of the tumor. It also increases the life span
of the mice having Ehrlich ascites carcinoma. The
hemoglobin levels and the count of red blood cells,
white blood cells, and lymphocytes were restored to
normal levels in mice treated with the methanol extract
of cat’s whisker plant. The leaves of this plant have tra-
ditionally been used for the treatment of rheumatic and
other inflammatory conditions. It also exhibited signifi-
cant anti-inflammatory activity in adjuvant-induced
arthritic rats (Narendhirakannan et al. 2005).
The presence of flavonoids such as rutin, luteolin,
quercetin, and hesperidin in cat’s whisker is considered
to be responsible for its antioxidant properties (Meda
et al. 2013). The seeds contain fatty acids including
palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid
and good amounts of various essential amino acids like
glutamic acid, arginine, leucine, valine, glycine, and
proline (Gupta & Chakravarty 1957; Mnzava 1990).
The plant possesses insecticidal and anti-tick properties
and antifeedant action against insects and is used as for-
age for bovines, camels, equines, and game animals
(Lokesha 2018). Multimodal application of C. gynandra
makes it clear that the species has many important char-
acteristics that demand for its conservation and utiliza-
tion from ecological perspectives.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A thorough data mining was performed using the avail-
able web resources to ensure that it is the first occur-
rence report of C. gynandra L. in the state of West
Bengal, India.
The Global Occurrence data was sourced from
databases listed in the Table 1 in the form of point
coordinates. The data records included observations, lit-
erature, and preserved herbaria specimen as well. In
cases, primarily for observations, where location infor-
mation was not properly mentioned (as coordinates),
the centroid of the described polygon was considered.
Furthermore, occurrence records collected from our
field surveys were also used. Google Earth™ was
employed to geo-reference field site.
There was substantial ambiguity regarding the scien-
tific name of the species in the cited literature.
© 2019 Weed Science Society of Japan
Table 1. List of database with their respective website
links
Database Links
Global Biodiversity https://www.gbif.org/
Information Facility
Catalogue of life www.catalogueoflife.org
Tropicos® www.tropicos.org/
Cabi – Invasive Species www.cabi.org/isc/
Compendium
India biodiversity portal https://indiabiodiversity.org/
Plants for future database https://pfaf.org/
NCBI Taxonomy https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
Browser gov/Taxonomy/
taxonomyhome.html/
C. gynandra is also known as C. pentaphylla L., Gynan-
dropsis gynandra L., and Gynandropsis pentaphylla (L.)
DC. Therefore, all the mentioned synonyms were used
as search string during data retrieval process to avoid
missing out any occurrence information.
The retrieved data was then organized into “*.csv”
format for further analysis using the freeware Quantum
GIS Version 2.18 “Las Palmas.” Global raster image
was fetched from Natural Earth at 1:50 million-scale
(https://www.naturalearthdata.com). The raster file mea-
sured 10,800 x 5,400 pixels and registered precisely with
the 1:50 million-scale vector data. Embedded content
included land cover, shaded relief, ocean water, and drain-
ages with lakes. Point occurrence data with latitude and
longitude values constituted the vector layer (Fig. 1).
After an extensive data mining using the above men-
tioned databases, it was evident that no prior informa-
tion has been documented regarding the occurrence of
cat’s whiskers in the eastern part of India except Assam.
Hence, the observation record of this plant in four dif-
ferent regions, namely Kestopur area – Site
1 (22.595,5
N, 88.435,7
E); Lake town area – Site
2 (22.607,0
N, 88.402,8
E); Bangur area – Site
3 (22.606,085
N &88.413,897
E), and Bantala area –
Site 4 (22.505,7
N, 88.508,2
E), Kolkata, West Bengal,
is the first report of this species. The whole plant of
C. gynandra L. was collected from these four locations
(Fig. 2) and passive quadrat analysis method was also
performed in the month of November, 2017. The plant
sample was identified with voucher specimen
(No. BSI/CDM/098) and has been preserved at our
laboratory for future reference.
The passive quadrat method (Gleason 1920) was used
to detect the abundance, density and frequency per-
centage of this species in the four observed sites. Quad-
rat of 1 sq. m size was prepared and a total of eight
 First report of Cleome gynandra in WB 131

Fig. 1. Occurrence map of Cleome gynandra L. throughout the World (a), in India (b) and in West Bengal (c) depicting
the earlier records and recent finding. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

quadrats were recorded for each of the sites. Presence
and absence of all the associated species were enlisted
along with their individual numbers. Frequency per-
centage, abundance, and density of each species for
each site was calculated using the following equations:
Frequency percentage: Frequency (%) of a species based
on the total number of quadrats studied.
Density: Density is the number of individuals per unit
area and can be calculated by the following formula:
 
Total number of individuals
Density =
Total number of quadrats studied

 
Number of quadrats in which the species occurred
Frequency ð%Þ = × 100
Total number of quadrats studied

© 2019 Weed Science Society of Japan

132 E. Bhattacharya et al.
Abundance: Abundance is described as the number of
individuals per quadrat of occurrence.
 
Total number of individuals
Abundance =
Number of quadrats of occurance
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Cat’s whiskers (C. gynandra) owns profound nutritive
and medicinal values, yet it is considered as a neglected
and underutilized weed species.
The present report provides valuable information
about the ecological habitat expansion of the species,
and an update of its geographical distribution range.
Eleven different plant species were found in the com-
munity composition associated with C. gynandra
© 2019 Weed Science Society of Japan
Fig. 2. Morphological features of
Cleome gynandra L. (a) Dense natu-
ral occurrence in collection site:
(Inset: Seeds of C. gynandra); (b, c)
side view and top view of the
inflorescence. [Color figure can be
viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
(Table 2). Based on the quadrat analysis, it is evident
that C. gynandra has an average frequency percentage
(%) of more than 60% in all the sites studied. This
indicates that in the selected sites, this species has
grown and proliferated in wild. This plant having a
bushy habit has a density ranging from 1.5 to 1.8
plants per unit area (m2) in different sites. But as for
abundance, up to 3 individual plants of C. gynandra
appeared per quadrat of 1sq.m in Site 3. It is compara-
ble to the already naturalized, invasive member of the
same family C. rutidosperma which has a frequency of
up to 87.5% and abundance of up to 4 plants per
quadrat, but owing to its small size has a higher den-
sity per unit area (m2) ranging from 2.0 to 3.5 plants
(Table 2).
In order to carry out genetic enhancement of valu-
able nutritive traits and facilitate systematic evaluation
and breeding/selection programs, a conscious effort
 First report of Cleome gynandra in WB 133

Table 2. Quadrat Analysis for Site 1, 2, 3, 4 for detecting Frequency percentage (%), Density and Abundance.

Frequency percentage (%) Density Abundance

Sl
no. Plant species Site1 Site2 Site3 Site4 Site1 Site2 Site3 Site4 Site1 Site2 Site3 Site4

1 Cleome viscosa 75 75 37.5 62.5 1.25 0.875 0.75 1.375 1.67 1.17 2.0 2.2
2 Cleome 75 87.5 62.5 87.5 2.0 2.63 2.5 3.5 2.67 3 4.0 4.0
rutidosperma
3 Euphorbia hirta 37.5 62.5 37.5 50 0.5 1.125 0.875 1.25 1.33 1.8 2.3 2.5
4 Heliotropium 37.5 37.5 0 25 0.375 0.375 0 0.375 1.0 1.0 0 1.5
indicum
5 Phyllanthus 25 50 50 37.5 0.375 1.5 1.125 0.75 1.5 3.0 2.3 2.0
niruri
6 Cleome gynandra 75 75 62.5 75 1.5 1.625 1.875 1.875 2.0 2.17 3.0 2.5
7 Commelina 37.5 25 62.5 25 0.5 0.25 1.0 1.0 1.33 1.0 1.6 4.0
benghalensis
8 Boerhavia diffusa 0 62.5 50 0 0 0.75 1.25 0 0 1.2 2.5 0
9 Amaranthus 50 25 25 0 0.625 0.25 0.25 0 1.25 1.0 1.0 0
spinosusmaran
10 Oldenlandia 87.5 100 62.5 0 3.875 6.25 3 0 4.43 6.25 4.8 0
corymbosa
11 Tridax 50 62.5 0 50 2.25 3.625 0 2.5 4.5 5.8 0 5
procumbens
12 Portulaca oleracea 50 0 37.5 50 0.625 0 0.875 2 1.25 0 2.33 4

should be taken to collect and maintain the germ-
plasm of C. gynandra. Moreover, C. gynandra has
NAD-malic enzyme type C4 photosynthesis mecha-
nism which is closely related to Arabidopsis thaliana
(a C3 photosynthetic plant) and therefore it offers
comparison of developmental progression from C3 to
C4 photosynthesis with this well-studied model
organism (Marshall et al. 2007). This would signifi-
cantly increase our insight about the genetic basis
behind the structure and function of the “C4 syn-
drome” and provide a context for how the individual
elements of C4 photosynthesis might have been
evolved phylogenetically (Newell et al. 2010; Sommer
et al. 2012).
In spite of its numerous nutraceutical prospects in
ethnobotanical outlook, cat’s whiskers is not yet for-
mally cultivated as a commercial crop. Its status remains
as a wild and weedy, volunteer crop for which it is
neglected by the National Agricultural Research Sys-
tems (NARS).
C. gynandra, a neglected and underutilized species,
have great untapped potential to support small holder
farmers and rural communities by improving their
income as well as food and nutritional security. More-
over, young farmers perceive it as a vegetable for the
poor. There is an urgent need to broaden the food bas-
ket of the world by supporting the development of
traditional crops that are neglected and marginalized by
current research and agricultural policies.
Expansion of geographical range of C. gynandra
towards the eastern part of India may be indicative in
both ways. On one hand it can be viewed as an enrich-
ment of therapeutic diversity of flora of the region,
while on the other hand it is assumed, owing to its
invasive properties, that this exotic species can deplete
natural diversity of the local region. This fact about the
invasive weeds regarding their beneficial and detrimen-
tal effects towards the native ecological background is a
matter of debate among the scientific community from
time unknown.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are privileged to convey our sincere gratitude to
our respected Director, Prof. Sanghamitra Ban-
dhopadhyay and Dean of Studies, Prof. Gatam
Mukherjee, Indian Statistical Institute, for providing
Laboratory facilities and financial support. We are
indebted to Prof. Susmita Mukhopadhyay, Prof-in-
Charge, Biological Sciences Division; Dr Sabyasachi
Bhattacharya, Head, Agricultural and Ecological
Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, for their
affectionate encouragement, valuable advice, and enor-
mous laboratory facilities.
© 2019 Weed Science Society of Japan
134 E. Bhattacharya et al.
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