Acalypha gracilens
Acalypha poiretii
slender copperleaf, slender three-seed-Mercury
Poiret's copperleaf
erect, pubescent.
erect, pubescent and sparsely hirsute.
petiole 0.2–1.2(–1.8) cm;
blade oblong-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 1.7–6 × 0.4–2 cm, base cuneate, margins serrate to crenate to subentire, apex obtuse to acute.
petiole 1–4.5 cm;
blade ovate to elliptic, 2–5 × 1–3.5 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins serrate-crenate, apex acute.
bisexual, axillary;
peduncle 0.1–0.6 cm, pistillate portion 0.7–1.3 × 0.8–1.5 cm or pistillate bract solitary, staminate portion 0.2–2.6 cm;
allomorphic pistillate flowers absent.
bisexual, axillary;
peduncle 0.1–0.5 cm, pistillate portion 2–4 × 0.8–1.2 cm (shorter on proximal inflorescences), staminate portion 0.3–1 cm;
allomorphic pistillate flowers common, terminal on staminate portion of inflorescences.
of allomorphic flowers rudimentary.
pistil 3-carpellate;
styles multifid or laciniate.
pistil 3-carpellate (normal flowers), 1-carpellate (allomorphic flowers);
styles unbranched.
smooth, pubescent.
smooth, pubescent;
allomorphic fruits obovoid, 1.2–1.5 × 1–1.2 mm, muricate, pubescent.
1.1–1.9 mm, minutely pitted.
1.2–1.5 mm, minutely pitted.
bracts loosely arranged to crowded (inflorescence axis clearly to scarcely visible between bracts) or solitary, 8–14 × 11–17 mm, abaxial surface sparsely pubescent, red sessile-glandular, and sometimes stipitate-glandular;
lobes (7–)9–13(–15), deltate, 1/10–1/4 bract length.
bracts (normal flowers) crowded (inflorescence axis not visible between bracts), 4–5 × 6–8 mm, abaxial surface pubescent and sparsely stipitate-glandular;
lobes 7–9, triangular, 1/5 bract length; of allomorphic flowers absent.
Acalypha gracilens
Acalypha poiretii
Acalypha gracilens varies considerably throughout its range; some of the extremes have been named. The variation shows no discrete breaks and no infraspecific taxa warrant recognition (G. A. Levin 1999). Populations in central Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa have been alleged to be introduced, but they show slight morphological differences from other populations and appear to be native. Acalypha gracilens is introduced in Wisconsin. See 16. A. virginica for a discussion of the differences between A. gracilens and that species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Acalypha poiretii is known in the flora area from the lower Rio Grande valley (Cameron, Hidalgo, and Starr counties). It was collected in the late nineteenth century on ballast dumps in Alabama, Florida, and New Jersey, but has not been reported again from any of these states.
Some authors (for example, R. Govaerts et al. 2000) have treated Acalypha poiretii and A. alnifolia Poiret as synonyms, in which case the latter would be the correct name for this species; however, the types of the two names clearly belong to different species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Go Botany
IL Wildflowers
LA Plants
MD Biodiversity
MO Plants
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
