Acalypha rhomboidea
Acalypha australis
common three-seed-Mercury, rhombic copper-leaf, rhombic or common threeseed Mercury, ricinelle rhomboïde
Asian copperleaf
usually erect, sometimes ascending, usually sparsely pubescent, rarely sparsely hirsute.
erect, densely to sparsely pilose.
petiole 0.4–7 cm;
blade ovate to broadly rhombic, 2–9 × 0.8–5 cm, base obtuse, margins crenate to serrate, apex acute to acuminate.
petiole 0.5–4 cm;
blade ovate to broadly lanceolate, 2–8 × 1.5–4 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins serrate, apex acute to short-acuminate.
bisexual, axillary;
peduncle 0.1–0.6 cm, pistillate portion 0.7–1.5(–2) × 1–2(–2.5) cm or pistillate bract solitary, staminate portion 0.3–1 cm;
allomorphic pistillate flowers rare, solitary in axils near base of stem.
bisexual, axillary;
peduncle 0.5–4(–6) cm, pistillate portion 1–2 × 1.5–2.5 cm or pistillate bract solitary, staminate portion 0.5–3 cm;
allomorphic pistillate flowers rare, when present replacing staminate part of inflorescence.
of allomorphic flowers 1–2 mm.
of allomorphic flowers rudimentary.
pistil 3-carpellate (normal flowers), 1-carpellate (allomorphic flowers);
styles multifid or laciniate.
pistil 3-carpellate (normal flowers), 2-carpellate (allomorphic flowers);
styles multifid or laciniate.
smooth, pubescent;
allomorphic fruits obovoid, 2 × 1 mm, spiny, pubescent.
muricate, pubescent;
allomorphic fruits obovoid, 2 × 1.2 mm, muricate, pubescent.
(1.2–)1.5–1.7(–2) mm, minutely pitted.
1.5–1.8 mm, minutely pitted.
bracts (normal flowers) loosely arranged to crowded (inflorescence axis clearly to scarcely visible between bracts) or solitary, 6–15 × 9–23 mm, abaxial surface sparsely pubescent and stipitate-glandular;
lobes (5–)7–9(–11), lanceolate to triangular, 1/3–2/3 bract length;
bracts of allomorphic flowers absent.
bracts (normal flowers) loosely arranged (inflorescence axis visible between bracts) or solitary, 10–15(–20) × 8–12 mm, abaxial surface sparsely pubescent;
lobes 12–15, rounded, 1/20 bract length; of allomorphic flowers absent.
Acalypha rhomboidea
Acalypha australis
Acalypha rhomboidea often has been called A. virginica due to controversy about the typification of that name. Conservation of the type of A. virginica resolved the issue. This nomenclatural problem, combined with use of inappropriate characters to distinguish A. rhomboidea and A. virginica, has resulted in considerable confusion between these amply distinct species. The two can be distinguished most readily by the pistillate bracts, which are clearly hirsute abaxially in A. virginica but sparsely pubescent abaxially in A. rhomboidea. In addition, the bracts of A. virginica have (8–)10–14(–16) triangular lobes one fourth to one half the bract length, whereas those of A. rhomboidea have (5–)7–9(–11) lanceolate or triangular lobes one third to two thirds the bract length, and the stems of A. virginica usually are hirsute whereas the stems of A. rhomboidea are rarely so.
In the southern part of its range, many Acalypha rhomboidea plants have been confused with A. gracilens. These plants are more delicate than A. rhomboidea from farther north, with notably smaller pistillate bracts, and they usually produce allomorphic flowers, whereas more robust or northerly plants rarely do. They can be distinguished from A. gracilens by having relatively wider leaves and pistillate bracts with fewer lobes and no red sessile glands.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Acalypha australis, native to eastern Asia, became established in metropolitan New York City in the 1980s. It was also collected once in 1900 in Oregon (Suksdorf 2892, GH), and apparently has not persisted there.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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