Stems to 1.5 m, branched above, viscid-pubescent; petioles commonly with a pair of short spines at the base; lfls of the main lvs 5-7, oblanceolate, finely hairy and often finely serrulate, the central one 6-10 cm; pet all oriented toward one side of the fl, white to pink, the blade obovate, 1 cm, abruptly narrowed to a claw ca half as long; fr 4-10 cm, about equaling the stipe, this nearly twice as long as the pedicel; 2n=20. Native of trop. Amer., occasionally escaped from cult. in our range, especially southward. June-Oct. (C. spinosa, misapplied)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.