Flora of North America species comparison

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Acalypha phleoides

Acalypha poiretii

shrubby copperleaf

Poiret's copperleaf
Habit Herbs, perennial, 2–5 dm, monoecious. Herbs, annual, 1–4 dm, monoecious.
Stems

erect, short-pubescent and hirsute.

erect, pubescent and sparsely hirsute.
Leaves

petiole 0.2–1 cm;

blade rhombic-ovate to ovate, or proximal suborbiculate, 2–6 × 1–3 cm, base acute to rounded, margins serrate to crenate-serrate, apex acute to acuminate.

petiole 1–4.5 cm;

blade ovate to elliptic, 2–5 × 1–3.5 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins serrate-crenate, apex acute.
Inflorescences

bisexual, terminal;

peduncle 0.3–0.5(–1) cm, pistillate portion 4–7 × 1.6–2 cm, staminate portion 0.5–3.5 cm;

allomorphic pistillate flowers rarely present, replacing all or part of staminate portion of inflorescence.

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.
Pedicels

of allomorphic flowers 3–5 mm.

of allomorphic flowers rudimentary.
Pistillate flowers

pistil 3-carpellate (normal flowers), 2-carpellate (allomorphic flowers);

styles multifid or laciniate.

pistil 3-carpellate (normal flowers), 1-carpellate (allomorphic flowers);

styles unbranched.
Capsules

muricate, pubescent;

allomorphic fruits obovoid, 2 × 1.5 mm, muricate, pubescent.

smooth, pubescent;

allomorphic fruits obovoid, 1.2–1.5 × 1–1.2 mm, muricate, pubescent.
Seeds

1.5–2 mm, minutely pitted.

1.2–1.5 mm, minutely pitted.
Pistillate

bracts (normal flowers) loosely arranged (inflorescence axis visible between bracts), 8–12 × 7–11 mm, abaxial surface sparsely pubescent and stipitate-glandular;

lobes (3–)5–7(–8), triangular to attenuate, 1/5–1/3 bract length or terminal lobe longer; of allomorphic flowers absent.

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.
2n

= 40 (Mexico).

Acalypha phleoides

Acalypha poiretii
Phenology Flowering and fruiting spring–fall. Flowering and fruiting late summer–fall.
Habitat Rocky areas, grasslands, oak, pine, or juniper woodlands. Disturbed areas.
Elevation 100–2600 m. (300–8500 ft.) 10–100 m. (0–300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; TX; Mexico; Central America (Guatemala)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX; c Mexico; e Mexico; Central America (Guatemala) [Introduced West Indies, South America, Africa]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Plants from the United States have nearly always been called Acalypha lindheimeri, distinguished from A. phleoides on the basis of leaf shape and bract lobing. Although plants from Texas generally can be distinguished from plants from central Mexico southward, plants from intervening regions in the United States and Mexico include a full range of intermediates (G. A. Levin 1999b).

(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.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 165. FNA vol. 12, p. 169.
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. monostachya, A. neomexicana, A. ostryifolia, 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. radians, A. rhomboidea, A. setosa, A. virginica, A. wilkesiana
Synonyms A. lindheimeri, A. lindheimeri var. major A. macrostachyos
Name authority Cavanilles: Anales Hist. Nat. 2: 139. (1800) Sprengel: Syst. Veg. 3: 879. (1826) — (as poireti)
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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