Flora of North America species comparison

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Acalypha poiretii

Acalypha californica

Poiret's copperleaf

California acalypha, California copperleaf, heirba del cancer, Pringle threeseed Mercury
Habit Herbs, annual, 1–4 dm, monoecious. Shrubs, 5–10 dm, monoecious.
Stems

erect, pubescent and sparsely hirsute.

erect, hirsute and stipitate-glandular, becoming glabrate.
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.

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

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 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.

Pistillate flowers

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

styles unbranched.

pistil 3-carpellate;

styles multifid or laciniate.
Capsules

smooth, pubescent;

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

smooth, pubescent and stipitate-glandular.
Seeds

1.2–1.5 mm, minutely pitted.

1.5–2 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 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.

Acalypha poiretii

Acalypha californica
Phenology Flowering and fruiting late summer–fall. Flowering and fruiting year-round, especially spring and fall.
Habitat Disturbed areas. Arid rocky slopes, desert washes.
Elevation 10–100 m. (0–300 ft.) 10–1400 m. (0–4600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
TX; c Mexico; e Mexico; Central America (Guatemala) [Introduced West Indies, South America, Africa]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[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.)

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 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. alopecuroidea, A. arvensis, A. australis, 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 A. pringlei
Name authority Sprengel: Syst. Veg. 3: 879. (1826) — (as poireti) Bentham: Bot. Voy. Sulphur, 51. (1844)
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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