Flora of North America species comparison

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Acalypha poiretii

Acalypha setosa

Poiret's copperleaf

Cuban copperleaf
Habit Herbs, annual, 1–4 dm, monoecious. Herbs, annual, 3–5 dm, monoecious.
Stems

erect, pubescent and sparsely hirsute.

erect, sparsely pubescent.
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 1–7 cm;

blade ovate, 2.5–10 × 1.5–8 cm, base broadly obtuse to rounded or truncate, 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; sometimes on short lateral branches, appearing axillary);

staminate peduncle 0.5–0.7 cm, fertile portion 0.5–1.5 cm;

pistillate peduncle 0.1–0.5 cm, fertile portion 3–12 × 0.7–1 cm;

allomorphic pistillate flowers common, near apices of pistillate inflorescences and mixed with flowers in staminate inflorescences.
Pedicels

of allomorphic flowers rudimentary.

of allomorphic flowers rudimentary.
Pistillate flowers

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.
Capsules

smooth, pubescent;

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

smooth, sparsely pubescent;

allomorphic fruits oblate ellipsoidal, longitudinally ridged, an irregular flange on each side, 1.4–1.7 × 1.5–2 mm, smooth, puberulent.
Seeds

1.2–1.5 mm, minutely pitted.

1.2–1.4 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) loosely arranged (inflorescence axis visible between bracts), 5–7 × 3–4 mm, abaxial surface glabrous;

lobes 7–9(–13), linear, nearly bract length, muricate; of allomorphic flowers on pistillate inflorescences like those of normal flowers, on staminate inflorescences absent.

Acalypha poiretii

Acalypha setosa
Phenology Flowering and fruiting late summer–fall. Flowering and fruiting summer–fall.
Habitat Disturbed areas. Disturbed areas.
Elevation 10–100 m. (0–300 ft.) 0–100 m. (0–300 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; GA; LA; MS; SC; c Mexico; s Mexico; Central America; West Indies; n South America [Introduced in North America]
[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.)

Acalypha setosa, indigenous from Mexico to northern South America and the West Indies, was first introduced to the United States in the late 1800s and now occurs sporadically through the southeastern states.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 169. FNA vol. 12, p. 168.
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. californica, A. chamaedrifolia, A. deamii, A. gracilens, A. monococca, A. monostachya, A. neomexicana, A. ostryifolia, A. phleoides, A. poiretii, A. radians, A. rhomboidea, A. virginica, A. wilkesiana
Synonyms A. macrostachyos
Name authority Sprengel: Syst. Veg. 3: 879. (1826) — (as poireti) A. Richard: in R. Sagra, Hist. Fis. Cuba 11: 204. (1850)
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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