Acalypha neomexicana |
Acalypha californica |
|
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New Mexico copperleaf |
California acalypha, California copperleaf, heirba del cancer, Pringle threeseed Mercury |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, 1–3.5 dm, monoecious. | Shrubs, 5–10 dm, monoecious. |
Stems | erect, pubescent. |
erect, hirsute and stipitate-glandular, becoming glabrate. |
Leaves | petiole 1–4 cm; blade ovate-lanceolate, 2–5 × 0.7–2.7 cm, base rounded (sometimes asymmetric), margins crenate to serrate, apex acute. |
persistent or drought-deciduous; petiole 0.5–2.5 cm; blade ovate to cordate, 1–5 × 0.5–4 cm, base truncate to rounded or cordate, margins serrate-crenate, apex acute or obtuse. |
Inflorescences | unisexual, axillary (staminate) and terminal (pistillate; sometimes on short lateral branches, appearing axillary); staminate peduncle 0.1–0.3 cm, fertile portion 0.1–0.6 cm; pistillate peduncle 0.1–0.2 cm, fertile portion 2–5(–7) × 1.5–2.5 cm; allomorphic pistillate flowers common, near apices of pistillate inflorescences. |
unisexual and bisexual, axillary and terminal; staminate peduncle 0.3–2.5 cm, fertile portion 1–4 cm; pistillate peduncle 0.4–3 cm, fertile portion 1–3 × 0.8–1.2 cm; bisexual similar to staminate, with 1–3 pistillate bracts near base; allomorphic pistillate flowers absent. |
Pedicels | of allomorphic flowers rudimentary. |
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Pistillate flowers | pistil 3-carpellate (normal flowers), 2-carpellate (allomorphic flowers); styles multifid or laciniate. |
pistil 3-carpellate; styles multifid or laciniate. |
Capsules | smooth, pubescent; allomorphic fruits obovoid, longitudinally 2-ridged near apex, 1.4–1.6 × 1–1.2 mm, muricate, pubescent. |
smooth, pubescent and stipitate-glandular. |
Seeds | 1.2–1.5 mm, coarsely pitted. |
1.5–2 mm, minutely pitted. |
Pistillate | bracts (normal and allomorphic flowers) crowded (inflorescence axis not or sparingly visible between bracts), 12–15 × 7–10 mm, abaxial surface pubescent and stipitate-glandular; lobes (5–)9–13(–17), deltate to triangular, 1/8–1/4 bract length, except terminal lobe to 1/3 bract length. |
bracts loosely arranged (inflorescence axis visible between bracts), 3–6 × 5.5–11 mm, abaxial surface pubescent, sessile- and stipitate-glandular; lobes (8–)10–18, rounded, 1/5 bract length. |
2n | = 20. |
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Acalypha neomexicana |
Acalypha californica |
|
Phenology | Flowering and fruiting late summer–fall. | Flowering and fruiting year-round, especially spring and fall. |
Habitat | Moist or shaded areas, oak or pine woodlands, desert grasslands. | Arid rocky slopes, desert washes. |
Elevation | 600–2500 m. (2000–8200 ft.) | 10–1400 m. (0–4600 ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; NM; TX; n Mexico; c Mexico
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AZ; CA; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Sonora)
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Discussion | Acalypha neomexicana is known in Texas only from the trans-Pecos region. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Plants in Arizona and Sonora have been segregated as Acalypha pringlei based on having long nonglandular hairs mixed with shorter hairs on the stem (versus hairs all of one length). This trait appears throughout the range of A. californica and cannot be used to distinguish two species (G. A. Levin 1995). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 169. | FNA vol. 12, p. 165. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | A. pringlei | |
Name authority | Müller Arg.: Linnaea 34: 19. (1865) | Bentham: Bot. Voy. Sulphur, 51. (1844) |
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