Flora of North America species comparison

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Acalypha poiretii

Acalypha alopecuroidea

Poiret's copperleaf

foxtail copperleaf
Habit Herbs, annual, 1–4 dm, monoecious. Herbs, annual, 2–6 dm, monoecious.
Stems

erect, pubescent and sparsely hirsute.

erect, short-pubescent and stipitate-glandular.
Leaves

petiole 1–4.5 cm;

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

petiole 0.5–7 cm, stipitate-glandular;

blade ovate to broadly ovate, 2–8 × 1.5–5 cm, base rounded or subcordate, margins serrate, apex acuminate.
Inflorescences

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.

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

staminate peduncle 0.1–0.6 cm, stipitate-glandular, fertile portion 0.2–0.8 cm;

pistillate peduncle 0.2–1 cm, stipitate-glandular, fertile portion 2–6 × 0.8–1.5 cm;

allomorphic pistillate flowers common, terminal on pistillate or, rarely, staminate inflorescences.
Pedicels

of allomorphic flowers rudimentary.

of allomorphic flowers 5–15 mm.
Pistillate flowers

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

styles unbranched.

pistil 3-carpellate (normal flowers), 1(–2)-carpellate (allomorphic flowers);

styles unbranched or rarely 2-fid.
Capsules

smooth, pubescent;

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

smooth, pubescent and stipitate-glandular or glabrate;

allomorphic fruits obovoid, 1–1.5 × 0.9–1.2 mm, muricate, hirsute.
Seeds

1.2–1.5 mm, minutely pitted.

1–1.1 mm, minutely pitted.
Pistillate

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.

bracts (normal flowers) crowded (inflorescence axis not visible between bracts), 8–12 × 3–4 mm, abaxial surface long-hirsute (hairs to 2 mm) and stipitate-glandular;

lobes 3–5, proximally deltate with linear tips, 3/4 bract length, smooth; of allomorphic flowers absent.

Acalypha poiretii

Acalypha alopecuroidea
Phenology Flowering and fruiting late summer–fall. Flowering and fruiting late summer–fall.
Habitat Disturbed areas. Disturbed areas.
Elevation 10–100 m. (0–300 ft.) 0–40 m. (0–100 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
TX; c Mexico; e Mexico; Central America (Guatemala) [Introduced West Indies, South America, Africa]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; LA; Mexico; Central America; West Indies; n South America [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Acalypha alopecuroidea has been established in the United States since at least the 1950s.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 169. FNA vol. 12, p. 167.
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. phleoides, A. radians, A. rhomboidea, A. setosa, A. virginica, A. wilkesiana
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, A. wilkesiana
Synonyms A. macrostachyos
Name authority Sprengel: Syst. Veg. 3: 879. (1826) — (as poireti) Jacquin: Collectanea 3: 196. (1791)
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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