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Virginia threeseed mercury

Acalypha virginica

Also called Virginia Copperleaf, Mercuryweed, Virginia Three Seeded Mercury, Threeseeded Mercury, Wax Balls, Virginia Three Seed Mercury

Virginia threeseed mercury
Photo: Mason Brock (Masebrock), Public domain
Family
Euphorbiaceae (Spurge family)
Grows as
Annual
Native range
C. & E. U.S.A.
Climate
temperate

About

Acalypha virginica, commonly called Virginia threeseed mercury or Virginia copperleaf, is a plant in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). It is native to the eastern United States. It is found in a variety of natural habitats, particularly in open woodlands and along riverbanks. It is a somewhat weedy species that responds positively to ecological disturbance, and can be found in degraded habitats such as agricultural fields.

Acalypha virginica is an erect herbaceous annual growing to 50 centimetres (20 in) tall. It is monoecious, and produces small greenish axillary flowers with no petals. It blooms in summer through fall. It bears a similarity to Acalypha gracilens which occupies much of its geographic range. Acalypha virginica can be distinguished by its pistillate bracts which are hirsute and lack glands (vs.

Other Acalypha plants

Asian copperleaf · Acalypha bipartita · California copperleaf · Bastard Copperleaf · Acalypha ciliata · Acalypha cupricola · Acalypha dictyoneura · Acalypha dikuluwensis · Acalypha ecuadorica · Acalypha eggersii · Native Acalypha · Golden falsenettle

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Acalypha virginica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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