Flora of North America species comparison

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Acalypha phleoides

Acalypha wilkesiana

shrubby copperleaf

beefsteak plant, match-me-if-you-can, painted copperleaf, wilkes' acalypha
Habit Herbs, perennial, 2–5 dm, monoecious. Shrubs, 20–50 dm, monoecious.
Stems

erect, short-pubescent and hirsute.

erect, sparsely to densely pubescent, not glandular.
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.

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

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.

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.
Pedicels

of allomorphic flowers 3–5 mm.

Pistillate flowers

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

styles multifid or laciniate.

pistil 3-carpellate;

styles multifid or laciniate.
Capsules

muricate, pubescent;

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

unknown.
Seeds

1.5–2 mm, minutely pitted.

unknown.
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 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.
2n

= 40 (Mexico).

Acalypha phleoides

Acalypha wilkesiana
Phenology Flowering and fruiting spring–fall. Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat Rocky areas, grasslands, oak, pine, or juniper woodlands. Old home sites, disturbed areas.
Elevation 100–2600 m. (300–8500 ft.) 0–10 m. (0–0 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; TX; Mexico; Central America (Guatemala)
[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

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 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. 165. 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. 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. poiretii, A. radians, A. rhomboidea, A. setosa, A. virginica
Synonyms A. lindheimeri, A. lindheimeri var. major A. amentacea subsp. wilkesiana
Name authority Cavanilles: Anales Hist. Nat. 2: 139. (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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