Acalypha poiretii Spreng.

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.

  • Family

    Euphorbiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Acalypha poiretii Spreng.

  • Description

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    Species Description - Erect herb or subshrub to 70 cm tall, branching along main stem, pubescence of long and erect, short and curved hairs, some glandular. Leaf blades 2.5-6 X 1-3 cm, ovate, chartaceous, pubescent on both surfaces, the apex acute, the base rounded to cuneate, the margins serrate-crenate; petioles slender, 1.5-4 cm long; stipules nearly linear, deciduous. Flowers in axillary, bisexual spikes; allomorphic pistillate flowers present at distal portion of inflorescence; staminate portion (distal) < 1 cm long; pistillate flowers on lower portion of inflorescence, the bracts ca. 5 mm long, dentate. Calyx green, of 4 sepals, 0.2 mm long; ovary 3- lobed, pubescent, the styles 3, free to base, the stigmas threadlike. Capsule 3-lobed, ca. 1.5 mm long, puberulent. Seeds nearly ellipsoid 1-1.5 mm long, brown to gray.

  • Discussion

    Acalypha macrostachya Poir. in Lam., Encycl. 6: 208. 1804, non Jacq., 1797.

    Note: This species was reported in error as Acalypha chamaedrifolia and A. indica by Woodbury and Weaver (1987).

  • Distribution

    A weed of open areas, introduced from the Old World tropics. Annaberg Ruins (A2925), Center Line Road by entrance to Bordeaux (A3846), Johnson Bay (A3156). Also on St. Thomas and St. Croix; Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles.

    West Indies| Puerto Rico South America| Saint Croix Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America|