Acalypha poiretii
Acalypha ostryifolia
Poiret's copperleaf
hophornbeam copperleaf, pineland threeseed Mercury
erect, pubescent and sparsely hirsute.
erect, pubescent, sparsely hirsute, and stipitate-glandular.
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 1.5–6.5 cm;
blade ovate, 3–8 × 1.5–5 cm, base cordate, margins serrate, apex acute to short acuminate.
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; sometimes on short lateral branches, appearing axillary);
staminate peduncle 0.5–1.5 cm, fertile portion 0.5–3.5 cm;
pistillate peduncle 0.1–1 cm, fertile portion 3–7 × 0.7–1 cm;
allomorphic pistillate flowers common, near apices of pistillate inflorescences.
of allomorphic flowers rudimentary.
of allomorphic flowers rudimentary.
pistil 3-carpellate (normal flowers), 1-carpellate (allomorphic flowers);
styles unbranched.
pistil 3-carpellate (normal flowers), 1(–3)-carpellate (allomorphic flowers);
styles multifid or laciniate.
smooth, pubescent;
allomorphic fruits obovoid, 1.2–1.5 × 1–1.2 mm, muricate, pubescent.
spiny, pubescent;
allomorphic fruits obovoid, 2 irregular flanges near apex, 2–2.2 × 1.6–1.8 mm, smooth, pubescent.
1.2–1.5 mm, minutely pitted.
1.6–2 mm, tuberculate.
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 and allomorphic flowers) loosely arranged (inflorescence axis visible between bracts), 3–6 × 6–8 mm, abaxial surface pubescent (hairs to 0.3 mm) and sparsely stipitate-glandular;
lobes (9–)13–17, linear, 2/3 bract length, muricate.
Acalypha poiretii
Acalypha ostryifolia
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.)
J. Torrey [in W. H. Emory 1857–1859, vol. 2(1)] reported Acalypha ostryifolia (as A. caroliniana Elliott) from New Mexico on the basis of Bigelow s.n., collected near "the Copper Mines" in Grant County. Although no specimen has been located by the author and this is the only report of this species from New Mexico, it is to be expected in the southwestern part of the state. It was collected in the late nineteenth century in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but has not been collected there since.
Acalypha ostryifolia may not be native to the northern part of its range. Specimen collection dates suggest that the species is spreading northward, and in much of its range it is found primarily in areas with human disturbance.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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