Flora of North America species comparison

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Acalypha monostachya

Acalypha wilkesiana

round copperleaf

beefsteak plant, match-me-if-you-can, painted copperleaf, wilkes' acalypha
Habit Herbs or subshrubs, perennial, 1.5–4 dm, monoecious or dioecious (staminate plants rare). Shrubs, 20–50 dm, monoecious.
Stems

prostrate to ascending, short-pubescent and hirsute.

erect, sparsely to densely pubescent, not glandular.
Leaves

petiole 0.5–2.5 cm;

blade orbiculate or reniform, 0.7–2.5 × 0.8–2.5 cm, base cordate or rounded, margins shallowly crenate, apex rounded.

persistent;

petiole 1–6 cm;

blade ovate to broadly ovate or suborbiculate, 9–20 × 4–15 cm, base obtuse to rounded or subcordate, margins serrate-crenate, apex acuminate.
Inflorescences

unisexual or bisexual, terminal (staminate, pistillate, and bisexual) and axillary (pistillate);

staminate peduncle 0.8–3 cm, fertile portion 1–4 cm;

pistillate peduncle 0.4–1.5 cm, fertile portion 1–2 × 0.8–1.2 cm;

bisexual similar to staminate, with 1–3 pistillate bracts near base;

allomorphic pistillate flowers absent.

usually unisexual, rarely bisexual, axillary;

staminate peduncle 0.1–1.5 cm, fertile portion 10–20 cm;

pistillate peduncle 1–2 cm, fertile portion 4–15 × 0.5–0.8 cm;

bisexual similar to staminate, with 1–2 pistillate bracts near base;

allomorphic pistillate flowers absent.
Pistillate flowers

pistil 3-carpellate;

styles multifid or laciniate.

pistil 3-carpellate;

styles multifid or laciniate.
Capsules

smooth, pubescent.

unknown.
Seeds

1.5–1.8 mm, minutely pitted.

unknown.
Pistillate

bracts crowded (inflorescence axis not visible between bracts), 6–8.5 × 8–12 mm, abaxial surface hirsute, sessile- and stipitate-glandular;

lobes (8–)10–12(–14), rounded, 1/4 bract length.

bracts loosely arranged (inflorescence axis visible between bracts), 2–4 × 3–5 mm, abaxial surface sparsely to moderately pubescent;

lobes 7–9, ovate to lanceolate, 1/4 bract length, except terminal lobe to 1/2 bract length.

Acalypha monostachya

Acalypha wilkesiana
Phenology Flowering and fruiting spring–fall. Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat Dry, open, rocky, gravelly, or sandy areas. Old home sites, disturbed areas.
Elevation 0–900 m. (0–3000 ft.) 0–10 m. (0–0 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
TX; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; Pacific Islands [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, West Indies, Central America, n South America, se Asia, Africa]
Discussion

Acalypha hederacea, the name most frequently used for these plants in the United States, and A. monostachya, commonly used for Mexican plants, were thought to differ in sexuality and staminate inflorescence length, but plants throughout Mexico and Texas show no consistent differences among populations and should be treated as a single species (G. A. Levin 1999b).

In the flora area, Acalypha monostachya is widespread in central and southern Texas.

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

Acalypha wilkesiana is not known in the wild, but presumably originated in the southwestern Pacific Islands (Bismarck Archipelago east to Fiji). The species is commonly cultivated as an ornamental for its leaves that may be various shades of green, purple, red, orange, and yellow (sometimes variegated), and sometimes contorted into unusual shapes. Despite low seed set, it occasionally becomes naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas. Naturalized plants often lack the distinctive leaf coloration found in cultivated plants. Although sometimes treated as A. amentacea subsp. wilkesiana, DNA sequence data show that A. wilkesiana and A. amentacea are distinct species (V. G. Sagun et al. 2010).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 166. FNA vol. 12, p. 165.
Parent taxa Euphorbiaceae > Acalypha Euphorbiaceae > Acalypha
Sibling taxa
A. alopecuroidea, A. arvensis, A. australis, A. californica, A. chamaedrifolia, A. deamii, A. gracilens, A. monococca, 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. chamaedrifolia, A. deamii, A. gracilens, A. monococca, A. monostachya, A. neomexicana, A. ostryifolia, A. phleoides, A. poiretii, A. radians, A. rhomboidea, A. setosa, A. virginica
Synonyms A. hederacea A. amentacea subsp. wilkesiana
Name authority Cavanilles: Anales Hist. Nat. 2: 138, plate 21, fig. 3. (1800) Müller Arg.: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 15(2): 817. (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).



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