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Acalypha

(Genus)

Acalypha[1] is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole genus of the subtribe Acalyphinae. With 450 to 500 species of herbs and shrubs, the genus is only behind Euphorbia, Croton and Phyllanthus in term of Malpighiales diversity. The common names are copperleaves or three-seeded mercuries.

These plants are mostly tropical or subtropical (but not present in Hawaiʻi and several other Pacific Islands), with a few representatives in temperate zones. The Americas contain two third of the known species, distributed from southern United States to Uruguay and northern Argentina.

Several species, such as A. ecuadorica, A. eggersii and A. raivavensis are nearly extinct, and the St. Helena Mountain Bush or "stringwood" (A. rubrinervis) already is.

Uses

Chenille Plant (A. hispida), cultivated as houseplant because of its colorful and texturally exciting flowers, is by far the best-known species. Others are grown for their foliage and a number of cultivars have been developed,m such as A. wilkesiana cv. 'Obovata Cristata'. A. bipartita is eaten as a vegetable in some parts of Africa[2].

Selected Species

  • Acalypha amentacea
    • Acalypha amentacea ssp. wilkesiana (syn. A. godseffiana)
  • Acalypha andina
  • Acalypha bipartita
  • Acalypha bisetosa
  • Acalypha californica – California Copperleaf, Pringle Three-seeded Mercury
  • Acalypha dictyoneura
  • Acalypha ecuadorica
  • Acalypha eggersii
  • Acalypha glabrata
  • Acalypha gracilens
  • Acalypha hispida – Chenille Plant, Philippine Medusa, Red-hot Cattail, "foxtail"
  • Acalypha hontauyuensis
  • Acalypha indica, Indian Acalypha
  • Acalypha klavea
  • Acalypha × lancasteri[verification needed]
  • Acalypha lepinei
  • Acalypha monococca
  • Acalypha ostryifolia
  • Acalypha pendula
  • Acalypha phleoides
  • Acalypha portoricensis
  • Acalypha radians
  • Acalypha raivavensis
  • Acalypha repens
  • Acalypha reptans
  • Acalypha rhomboidea – Common Copperleaf, Common Three-seeded Mercury
  • Acalypha rubrinervis – St. Helena Mountain Bush, String Tree, Stringwood - extinct (c.1860)
  • Acalypha schimpffii
  • Acalypha siamensis
  • Acalypha skutchii
  • Acalypha sonderiana
  • Acalypha suirenbiensis
  • Acalypha tunguraguae
  • Acalypha umbrosa
  • Acalypha virginica – Virginia Copperleaf, Virginia Three-seeded Mercury
  • Acalypha wilkesiana – Beefsteakplant, Copperleaf, Fire-dragon, Jacob's-coat[3]

Photos

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Map

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Taxonomy

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The Genus Acalypha is further organized into finer groupings including:

References

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  • Pax, Ferdinand Albin & Hoffmann, Käthe (1924): Euphorbiaceae-Crotonoideae-Acalypheae-Acalyphinae. In: Engler, Adolf: Das Pflanzenreich Series IV '147.XVI (85): 1-231.
  • Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004): Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2: Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Latinized Ancient Greek from akaluphē (ἀκαλύφη), a nettle-like plant
  2. ^ Grubben & Denton (2004)
  3. ^ Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) (1999-08-30). Taxon: Acalypha wilkesiana Müll. Arg. (HTML). Taxonomy for Plants. USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program, National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.

Sources

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Last Revised: May 01, 2008