Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Acalypha deamii

Acalypha chamaedrifolia

Deam's threeseed Mercury, largeseed Mercury

bastard copperleaf, Everglades copperleaf
Habit Herbs, annual, 3–7 dm, monoecious. Herbs, perennial, 1–2.5 dm, monoecious.
Stems

erect, glabrate.

prostrate to ascending, pubescent.
Leaves

petiole 2.5–7 cm;

blade ovate to broadly rhombic, 4–12 × 2–7 cm, base obtuse, margins serrate, apex acute to acuminate.

petiole 0.1–0.5 cm;

blade ovate to orbiculate, 0.3–2.1 × 0.3–1.2 cm, base cordate or rounded, margins serrate-crenate, apex obtuse or acute.
Inflorescences

bisexual, axillary;

peduncle 0.1–0.6 cm, pistillate portion 0.8–1.5 × 1–2 cm or pistillate bract solitary, staminate portion 0.3–0.7 cm;

allomorphic pistillate flowers common, solitary in axils near base of stem.

bisexual, terminal;

peduncle 0.2–1 cm, pistillate portion 1.5–3 × 1–1.5 cm, staminate portion 0.8–2.5 cm;

allomorphic pistillate flowers absent.
Pedicels

of allomorphic flowers rudimentary.

Pistillate flowers

pistil 2-carpellate (normal flowers), 1-carpellate (allomorphic flowers);

styles multifid or laciniate.

pistil 3-carpellate;

styles multifid or laciniate.
Capsules

smooth, pubescent;

allomorphic fruits obovoid, 2.5–3 × 1.8–2 mm, spiny, pubescent.

smooth, pubescent.
Seeds

2.4–3.2 mm, shallowly pitted.

1.2–1.4 mm, minutely pitted.
Pistillate

bracts (normal flowers) loosely arranged to crowded (inflorescence axis clearly to scarcely visible between bracts) or solitary, 8–16 × 11–20 mm, abaxial surface sparsely pubescent and usually stipitate-glandular;

lobes (5–)7–9, lanceolate to narrowly oblong, 1/2–3/4 bract length; of allomorphic flowers absent.

bracts crowded (inflorescence axis not or sparingly visible between bracts), 4–6 × 7–10 mm, abaxial surface pubescent and sessile-glandular;

lobes (7–)10–13, deltate to triangular, 1/5 bract length.

Acalypha deamii

Acalypha chamaedrifolia
Phenology Flowering and fruiting late summer–fall. Flowering and fruiting year-round, mainly spring–fall.
Habitat Moist bottomland woods, near streams or rivers, rarely in moist upland forests. Rocky pine woods, disturbed areas.
Elevation 100–400 m. (300–1300 ft.) 0–10 m. (0–0 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MD; MO; OH; PA; TN; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; West Indies
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Acalypha deamii strongly resembles robust individuals of A. rhomboidea but is generally restricted to moist bottomland woods. Some accounts state that the leaves of A. deamii droop; this characteristic is not consistent and cannot be used for identification.

The distribution of Acalypha deamii is probably not as patchy as collections suggest. It is frequently overlooked because it looks so much like the widespread and abundant A. rhomboidea and is difficult to recognize until fruits mature. Collections may also be limited because A. deamii shares its habitat with stinging nettles.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

In the flora area, Acalypa chamaedrifolia is native to Miami-Dade and Monroe counties but has been sparingly, and apparently accidentally, introduced farther north.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 170. FNA vol. 12, p. 166.
Parent taxa Euphorbiaceae > Acalypha Euphorbiaceae > Acalypha
Sibling taxa
A. alopecuroidea, A. arvensis, A. australis, A. californica, A. chamaedrifolia, A. gracilens, A. monococca, A. monostachya, A. neomexicana, A. ostryifolia, A. phleoides, A. poiretii, A. radians, A. rhomboidea, A. setosa, A. virginica, A. wilkesiana
A. alopecuroidea, A. arvensis, A. australis, A. californica, A. deamii, A. gracilens, A. monococca, A. monostachya, A. neomexicana, A. ostryifolia, A. phleoides, A. poiretii, A. radians, A. rhomboidea, A. setosa, A. virginica, A. wilkesiana
Synonyms A. virginica var. deamii, A. rhomboidea var. deamii Croton chamaedryfolius
Name authority (Weatherby) H. E. Ahles: in G. N. Jones and G. D. Fuller, Vasc. Pl. Illinois, 301. (1955) (Lamarck) Müller Arg.: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 15(2): 879. (1866)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers