Flora of North America species comparison

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Acalypha virginica

Virginia copperleaf, Virginia three-seed-Mercury
Habit Herbs, annual, 1–5 dm, monoecious.
Stems

usually erect, sometimes ascending, pubescent and usually hirsute.
Leaves

petiole 0.3–7 cm;

blade narrowly rhombic to broadly lanceolate, 1–8(–11) × 0.5–3(–4) cm, base acute, margins serrate, apex acute to acuminate.
Inflorescences

bisexual, axillary;

peduncle 0.1–0.6 cm, pistillate portion 0.7–1.5 × 1.3–1.7 cm or pistillate bract solitary, staminate portion 0.3–1(–1.8) cm;

allomorphic pistillate flowers absent.
Pistillate flowers

pistil 3-carpellate;

styles multifid or laciniate.
Capsules

smooth, pubescent.
Seeds

(1.2–)1.5–1.6(–1.8) mm, minutely pitted.
Pistillate

bracts loosely arranged to crowded (inflorescence axis clearly to scarcely visible between bracts) or solitary, 6–13 × 9–20 mm, abaxial surface hirsute and sometimes stipitate-glandular;

lobes (9–)10–14(–16), triangular, 1/4–1/2 bract length.

Acalypha virginica
Phenology Flowering and fruiting summer–fall.
Habitat Deciduous and evergreen woods, riverbanks, agricultural fields, disturbed areas.
Elevation 30–1200 m. (100–3900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Acalypha virginica overlaps geographically with A. rhomboidea but is more frequently found in grassy or prairielike habitats. See the discussion of 15. A. rhomboidea for notes on the nomenclatural and taxonomic confusion associated with these species.

Acalypha virginica and A. gracilens can sometimes be difficult to distinguish, especially when young. They can generally be distinguished by the pistillate bracts, which in A. virginica are hirsute and lack red sessile glands abaxially and in A. gracilens are sparsely pubescent and bear some red sessile glands abaxially.

Reports of Acalypha virginica from states other than those listed here are based on misidentifications.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 171.
Parent taxa 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. poiretii, A. radians, A. rhomboidea, A. setosa, A. wilkesiana
Synonyms A. digyneia
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1003. (1753) — name conserved
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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