Flora of North America species comparison

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Acalypha wilkesiana

beefsteak plant, match-me-if-you-can, painted copperleaf, wilkes' acalypha
Habit Shrubs, 20–50 dm, monoecious.
Stems

erect, sparsely to densely pubescent, not glandular.
Leaves

persistent;

petiole 1–6 cm;

blade ovate to broadly ovate or suborbiculate, 9–20 × 4–15 cm, base obtuse to rounded or subcordate, margins serrate-crenate, apex acuminate.
Inflorescences

usually unisexual, rarely bisexual, axillary;

staminate peduncle 0.1–1.5 cm, fertile portion 10–20 cm;

pistillate peduncle 1–2 cm, fertile portion 4–15 × 0.5–0.8 cm;

bisexual similar to staminate, with 1–2 pistillate bracts near base;

allomorphic pistillate flowers absent.
Pistillate flowers

pistil 3-carpellate;

styles multifid or laciniate.
Capsules

unknown.
Seeds

unknown.
Pistillate

bracts loosely arranged (inflorescence axis visible between bracts), 2–4 × 3–5 mm, abaxial surface sparsely to moderately pubescent;

lobes 7–9, ovate to lanceolate, 1/4 bract length, except terminal lobe to 1/2 bract length.

Acalypha wilkesiana
Phenology Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat Old home sites, disturbed areas.
Elevation 0–10 m. (0–0 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; Pacific Islands [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, West Indies, Central America, n South America, se Asia, Africa]
Discussion

Acalypha wilkesiana is not known in the wild, but presumably originated in the southwestern Pacific Islands (Bismarck Archipelago east to Fiji). The species is commonly cultivated as an ornamental for its leaves that may be various shades of green, purple, red, orange, and yellow (sometimes variegated), and sometimes contorted into unusual shapes. Despite low seed set, it occasionally becomes naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas. Naturalized plants often lack the distinctive leaf coloration found in cultivated plants. Although sometimes treated as A. amentacea subsp. wilkesiana, DNA sequence data show that A. wilkesiana and A. amentacea are distinct species (V. G. Sagun et al. 2010).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 165.
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. virginica
Synonyms A. amentacea subsp. wilkesiana
Name authority Müller Arg.: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 15(2): 817. (1866)
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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